VQP
10
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Certified correct as passed Third Reading on the 27th day of April, 2023
Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
HONOURABLE KATRINE CONROY
MINISTER OF FINANCE
HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
Part 1 – Non-Tax Budget Measures
Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act
1 Section 2.2 of the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act, S.B.C. 2001, c. 28, is amended by striking out "2024–2025" and substituting "2025–2026".
Members' Remuneration and Pensions Act
2 Section 2 (2.1) of the Members' Remuneration and Pensions Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 257, is amended by striking out "and April 1, 2013" and substituting ", April 1, 2013 and April 1, 2020".
3 Section 2 (2.1) is amended by striking out "and April 1, 2020" and substituting ", April 1, 2020 and April 1, 2023".
Part 2 – Tax-Related Budget Measures
Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2008
4 Section 42.1 of the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2008, S.B.C. 2008, c. 10, is amended by striking out "paragraph (h)" and substituting "paragraph (m)".
Carbon Tax Act
5 The Carbon Tax Act, S.B.C. 2008, c. 40, is amended by adding the following section:
8.2 (1) If a purchaser purchased fuel that was partially exempt from tax imposed under section 8 and the fuel is subsequently used
(a) in circumstances other than the circumstances in which the partial exemption applies, or
(b) in contravention of the conditions or limitations of the partial exemption,
the purchaser must pay to the government tax on that fuel at the rate calculated in accordance with subsection (2).
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the rate of tax on the fuel is the difference between
(a) the rate of tax for that type of fuel set out in the column of the Table in Schedule 1 that applies for the period of time in which that fuel is used, and
(b) the rate of tax for that type of fuel that applied when the purchaser paid tax under the partial exemption.
(3) Tax payable under subsection (1) must be paid at the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner.
6 Section 64 (9) is amended by striking out "Despite section 71 (1), the" and substituting "The".
7 Section 71 is repealed and the following substituted:
71 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, other than excluded information, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"excluded information" means any of the following information:
(a) the name and address of a collector;
(b) whether a person's appointment as a collector has been suspended or cancelled;
(c) in relation to a person who holds or has held an exempt fuel retailer permit within the meaning of Part 8.1 of the Carbon Tax Regulation, B.C. Reg. 125/2008,
(i) the name and address of the person,
(ii) the type or subcategory of a type of fuel specified in the exempt fuel retailer permit,
(iii) the percentage set by the director under section 41.3 of the Carbon Tax Regulation in relation to the person, and
(iv) whether the exempt fuel retailer permit has been suspended or cancelled;
(d) in relation to a person who is or has been a registered consumer,
(i) the name and address of the person,
(ii) the type or subcategory of a type of fuel specified in the person's registered consumer certificate, and
(iii) whether the person's registered consumer certificate has been suspended or cancelled;
(e) in relation to a person who holds or has held a registered marine service certificate or a registered air service certificate,
(i) the name and address of the person,
(ii) the type or subcategory of a type of fuel specified in the registered marine service certificate or registered air service certificate, and
(iii) whether the registered marine service certificate or registered air service certificate has been suspended or cancelled;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code;
"US state official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of a state of the United States of America, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position.
(2) For the purposes of the definition of "excluded information", a person's name includes any name under which the person carries on business.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section or section 64 (9), an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(4) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) Part 10 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the regulations under that Part.
(6) Subject to subsection (7), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, security, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any exemption, deduction, refund or credit to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of Part 10 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the regulations under that Part;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information to a US state official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of a state of the United States of America that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(e) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(f) provide confidential information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 or 242 of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(g) provide confidential information relating to a person, other than information that may be requested from the director under section 64 (9),
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(h) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(i) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(j) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(k) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(7) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 71.1, an official must not, under subsection (6) (a) to (d) and (i) to (l) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada,
(c) an official of the government of another province, or
(d) a US state official.
(8) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(9) The person who presides at a legal proceeding in relation to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(10) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
71.1 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 71;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 71 (6).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government,
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government, or
(d) the government of a state of the United States of America or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) Part 10 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the regulations under that Part, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 71 (7), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
8 Section 75 (1) is repealed.
9 The following section is added:
75.1 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 71 (3), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 71 (9).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 71 (6) (a) to (c), (e), (f), (i), (j) or (l), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
10 Section 84 (3) (n) is amended by adding ", including emissions that are captured, stored or sequestered," after "greenhouse gas emissions".
11 Schedule 1 is amended by repealing the table and substituting the following:
Table
| Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 3 |
Column 4 |
Column 5 |
Column 6 |
Column 7 |
| Item | Type of fuel | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2022 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2023 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2024 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2025 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2026 |
| 1 | Aviation Fuel | 12.44 ¢/L | 15.92 ¢/L | 19.59 ¢/L | 23.26 ¢/L | 26.94 ¢/L |
| 2 | Gasoline | 11.05 ¢/L | 14.31 ¢/L | 17.61 ¢/L | 20.91 ¢/L | 24.22 ¢/L |
| 3 | Heavy Fuel Oil | 15.93 ¢/L | 20.72 ¢/L | 25.50 ¢/L | 30.28 ¢/L | 35.06 ¢/L |
| 4 | Jet Fuel | 12.91 ¢/L | 16.78 ¢/L | 20.65 ¢/L | 24.53 ¢/L | 28.40 ¢/L |
| 5 | Kerosene | 12.91 ¢/L | 16.78 ¢/L | 20.65 ¢/L | 24.53 ¢/L | 28.40 ¢/L |
| 6 | Light Fuel Oil | 13.01 ¢/L | 16.85 ¢/L | 20.74 ¢/L | 24.62 ¢/L | 28.51 ¢/L |
| 7 | Methanol | 5.49 ¢/L | 7.14 ¢/L | 8.78 ¢/L | 10.43 ¢/L | 12.08 ¢/L |
| 8 | Naphtha | 11.27 ¢/L | 14.65 ¢/L | 18.03 ¢/L | 21.42 ¢/L | 24.80 ¢/L |
| 9 | Butane | 8.90 ¢/L | 11.57 ¢/L | 14.24 ¢/L | 16.91 ¢/L | 19.58 ¢/L |
| 10 | Coke Oven Gas | 3.50 ¢/m3 | 4.55 ¢/m3 | 5.60 ¢/m3 | 6.65 ¢/m3 | 7.70 ¢/m3 |
| 11 | Ethane | 5.09 ¢/L | 6.62 ¢/L | 8.15 ¢/L | 9.68 ¢/L | 11.21 ¢/L |
| 12 | Propane | 7.74 ¢/L | 10.06 ¢/L | 12.38 ¢/L | 14.70 ¢/L | 17.03 ¢/L |
| 13 | Natural Gas | 9.79 ¢/m3 | 12.39 ¢/m3 | 15.25 ¢/m3 | 18.11 ¢/m3 | 20.97 ¢/m3 |
| 14 | Refinery Gas | 13.50 ¢/m3 | 13.96 ¢/m3 | 17.18 ¢/m3 | 20.40 ¢/m3 | 23.62 ¢/m3 |
| 15 | High Heat Value Coal | 112.58 $/tonne | 145.02 $/tonne | 178.48 $/tonne | 211.95 $/tonne | 245.41 $/tonne |
| 16 | Low Heat Value Coal | 88.62 $/tonne | 115.21 $/tonne | 141.80 $/tonne | 168.38 $/tonne | 194.97 $/tonne |
| 17 | Coke | 158.99 $/tonne | 206.68 $/tonne | 254.38 $/tonne | 302.07 $/tonne | 349.77 $/tonne |
| 18 | Petroleum Coke | 19.19 ¢/L | 24.52 ¢/L | 30.18 ¢/L | 35.84 ¢/L | 41.49 ¢/L |
| 19 | Gas Liquids | 8.32 ¢/L | 10.81 ¢/L | 13.31 ¢/L | 15.81 ¢/L | 18.30 ¢/L |
| 20 | Pentanes Plus | 8.90 ¢/L | 11.57 ¢/L | 14.24 ¢/L | 16.91 ¢/L | 19.58 ¢/L |
[Note: table continues below.]
| Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 8 |
Column 9 |
Column 10 |
Column 11 |
| Item | Type of fuel | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2027 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2028 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2029 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2030 and each subsequent year starting April 1 |
| 1 | Aviation Fuel | 30.61 ¢/L | 34.28 ¢/L | 37.95 ¢/L | 41.63 ¢/L |
| 2 | Gasoline | 27.52 ¢/L | 30.82 ¢/L | 34.12 ¢/L | 37.43 ¢/L |
| 3 | Heavy Fuel Oil | 39.84 ¢/L | 44.62 ¢/L | 49.41 ¢/L | 54.19 ¢/L |
| 4 | Jet Fuel | 32.27 ¢/L | 36.14 ¢/L | 40.01 ¢/L | 43.89 ¢/L |
| 5 | Kerosene | 32.27 ¢/L | 36.14 ¢/L | 40.01 ¢/L | 43.89 ¢/L |
| 6 | Light Fuel Oil | 32.40 ¢/L | 36.28 ¢/L | 40.17 ¢/L | 44.06 ¢/L |
| 7 | Methanol | 13.73 ¢/L | 15.37 ¢/L | 17.02 ¢/L | 18.67 ¢/L |
| 8 | Naphtha | 28.18 ¢/L | 31.56 ¢/L | 34.94 ¢/L | 38.32 ¢/L |
| 9 | Butane | 22.25 ¢/L | 24.92 ¢/L | 27.59 ¢/L | 30.26 ¢/L |
| 10 | Coke Oven Gas | 8.75 ¢/m3 | 9.80 ¢/m3 | 10.85 ¢/m3 | 11.90 ¢/m3 |
| 11 | Ethane | 12.73 ¢/L | 14.26 ¢/L | 15.79 ¢/L | 17.32 ¢/L |
| 12 | Propane | 19.35 ¢/L | 21.67 ¢/L | 23.99 ¢/L | 26.31 ¢/L |
| 13 | Natural Gas | 23.83 ¢/m3 | 26.69 ¢/m3 | 29.54 ¢/m3 | 32.40 ¢/m3 |
| 14 | Refinery Gas | 26.84 ¢/m3 | 30.06 ¢/m3 | 33.28 ¢/m3 | 36.50 ¢/m3 |
| 15 | High Heat Value Coal | 278.88 $/tonne | 312.35 $/tonne | 345.81 $/tonne | 379.28 $/tonne |
| 16 | Low Heat Value Coal | 221.56 $/tonne | 248.14 $/tonne | 274.73 $/tonne | 301.31 $/tonne |
| 17 | Coke | 397.46 $/tonne | 445.16 $/tonne | 492.86 $/tonne | 540.55 $/tonne |
| 18 | Petroleum Coke | 47.15 ¢/L | 52.81 ¢/L | 58.47 ¢/L | 64.13 ¢/L |
| 19 | Gas Liquids | 20.80 ¢/L | 23.29 ¢/L | 25.79 ¢/L | 28.28 ¢/L |
| 20 | Pentanes Plus | 22.25 ¢/L | 24.92 ¢/L | 27.59 ¢/L | 30.26 ¢/L |
12 Schedule 2 is amended by repealing the table and substituting the following:
Table
| Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 3 |
Column 4 |
Column 5 |
Column 6 |
Column 7 |
| Item | Type of Combustible | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2022 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2023 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2024 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2025 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2026 |
| 1 | Peat | 51.10 $/tonne | 66.43 $/tonne | 81.76 $/tonne | 97.09 $/tonne | 112.42 $/tonne |
| 2 | Combustible Waste | 99.87 $/tonne | 129.82 $/tonne | 159.78 $/tonne | 189.74 $/tonne | 219.70 $/tonne |
[Note: table continues below.]
| Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 8 |
Column 9 |
Column 10 |
Column 11 |
| Item | Type of Combustible | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2027 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2028 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2029 | Rate of tax for the year starting April 1, 2030 and each subsequent year starting April 1 |
| 1 | Peat | 127.75 $/tonne | 143.08 $/tonne | 158.41 $/tonne | 173.74 $/tonne |
| 2 | Combustible Waste | 249.66 $/tonne | 279.62 $/tonne | 309.58 $/tonne | 339.54 $/tonne |
Forest Act
13 Section 142.93 of the Forest Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 157, is repealed and the following substituted:
142.93 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out Part 11.1 of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of Part 11.1 of this Act by or on behalf of the revenue minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code;
"US state official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of a state of the United States of America, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act or another Act administered by the minister, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of policy;
(iv) to an official of the ministry of the revenue minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information to a US state official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of a state of the United States of America that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(e) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(f) provide confidential information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 or 242 of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(g) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(h) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(i) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(j) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(k) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 142.931, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (d) and (i) to (l) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the revenue minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada,
(c) an official of the government of another province, or
(d) a US state official.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
142.931 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 142.93;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 142.93 (5).
(2) The revenue minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government,
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government, or
(d) the government of a state of the United States of America or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the revenue minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the revenue minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an enactment administered by the revenue minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the revenue minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the revenue minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 142.93 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the revenue minister under this section.
14 The following section is added:
164.01 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 142.93 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 142.93 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 142.93 (5) (a) to (c), (e), (f), (i), (j) or (l), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on conviction to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act
15 Section 1 (1) of the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act, S.B.C. 2014, c. 29, is amended
(a) in the definition of "administrative agreement" by striking out "under section 16 (2) [registry operated outside government]" and substituting "referred to in section 14 (1) (b) [registry administrator]",
(b) in the definition of "compliance account" by striking out "section 13 (3) (b)" and substituting "section 13 (2) (d)",
(c) by adding the following definition:
"compliance obligation deadline", in relation to a compliance period, means the compliance obligation deadline prescribed for the compliance period; ,
(d) by repealing the definitions of "compliance period" and "compliance report" and substituting the following:
"compliance period" means a period set out in column 2 of the Schedule;
"compliance report" means a report under section 7 (1) [compliance reports], a supplementary report under section 7 (3) or a corrected report under section 7 (5.1); ,
(e) in the definition of "compliance unit" by striking out "a funded unit,",
(f) in the definition of "contingency account" by striking out "section 13 (4) (c)" and substituting "section 13 (2) (f)",
(g) by repealing the definition of "director's protocol",
(h) by repealing the definitions of "emission limit", "emission report" and "facility" and substituting the following:
"emission limit", in relation to a regulated operation for a compliance period, means the emission limit for the regulated operation as determined in accordance with the regulations for the compliance period;
"emission report" means a report under section 3 (1) [emission reports], a supplementary report under section 3 (3) or a corrected report under section 3 (5.1);
"facility", subject to subsection (3), has the prescribed meaning; ,
(i) by repealing the definition of "funded unit",
(j) by repealing the definition of "holding account" and substituting the following:
"holding account" means
(a) an account described in section 13 (2) (a), (b) or (c) [registry], or
(b) a prescribed account in the registry; ,
(k) in the definition of "industrial operation" by adding ", subject to subsection (3)," before "means",
(l) in the definition of "issue" by striking out ", a funded unit",
(m) by adding the following definitions:
"new entrant" means an industrial operation or a part of an industrial operation
(a) that has been designated under section 20.2 (2) [new entrant] as a new entrant,
(b) that is a regulated operation, or a part of a regulated operation, and
(c) in relation to which the new entrant period has begun and not ended;
"new entrant period", in relation to a new entrant, has the prescribed meaning;
"opted-in operation" means an industrial operation that is designated under section 20.1 [opting in and out] as a reporting operation or as a reporting operation and a regulated operation;
"protocol" means a protocol established under section 10 [protocols]; ,
(n) in the definition of "registry" by striking out "for the purposes of section 13" and substituting "under section 13 (1)",
(o) by repealing the definitions of "registry administrator", "regulated operation" and "reporting operation" and substituting the following:
"registry administrator" means a person appointed under section 14 (1) [registry administrator];
"regulated operation", subject to subsection (3), means
(a) a reporting operation that is in a class designated by regulation, or
(b) an opted-in operation that is designated as a reporting operation and a regulated operation;
"reporting operation", subject to subsection (3), means
(a) an industrial operation that is prescribed as a reporting operation, or
(b) an opted-in operation that is designated as a reporting operation; ,
(p) in paragraph (a) of the definition of "retire" by striking out ", a funded unit",
(q) in the definition of "retirement account" by striking out "section 13 (4) (b)" and substituting "section 13 (2) (e)",
(r) by repealing the definitions of "schedule" and "technology fund", and
(s) in the definition of "verification statement" by striking out "an emission report, a compliance report or an accepted emission offset project report" and substituting "information included in an emission report, a compliance report or an accepted emission offset project report, or information provided to the director under section 3 (7) [emission reports] or 7 (7) [compliance reports]".
16 Section 1 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(3) The director may determine, taking into account any criteria prescribed by regulation, whether any specific buildings, structures, fixtures, equipment or activities constitute a facility, an industrial operation, a reporting operation or a regulated operation, or a part of an industrial operation, reporting operation or regulated operation.
17 Section 3 is amended
(a) by repealing subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following:
(1) For each reporting period, in accordance with the regulations, the operator of a reporting operation must ensure that the reports required by the regulations respecting the following are submitted to the director:
(a) the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, determined in accordance with the regulations, that is attributable to the reporting operation for the purposes of this section for the reporting period;
(b) the prescribed information or matters. ,
(b) by repealing subsection (4),
(c) by adding the following subsections:
(5.1) If, within 7 years after an emission report is submitted, the director has reasonable grounds to suspect that there is an error or omission in the report, the director may require that the operator of the reporting operation have a corrected report prepared in accordance with the regulations and submitted to the director by the date specified by the director.
(5.2) The operator of a reporting operation must comply with a requirement of the director under subsection (5.1) in relation to an emission report unless the operator establishes to the satisfaction of the director that
(a) the emission report is accurate and complete, or
(b) data is not available to correct the emission report. ,
(d) in subsection (6) by adding "or a corrected report" after "supplementary report", and
(e) by repealing subsection (7) and substituting the following:
(7) If required by the director, the operator of a reporting operation must provide, by the date specified by the director,
(a) any additional information specified by the director in support of an emission report,
(b) information that the director reasonably requires for the purposes of administering or ensuring compliance with this Act or the regulations, and
(c) any prescribed information.
(8) If required by the regulations or by the director, the operator of a reporting operation must ensure that a verification statement in relation to an emission report, or in relation to information provided under subsection (7), is prepared at the expense of the operator and submitted to the director
(a) in accordance with the regulations, or
(b) if no specific direction is prescribed, in accordance with the directions of the director.
(9) The director may
(a) require that an emission report or information provided under subsection (7) be audited at the expense of the operator in accordance with the directions of the director, or
(b) conduct the audit, or authorize a person to conduct the audit, at the expense of the operator.
18 Sections 4 and 5 are repealed and the following substituted:
5 (1) For the purposes of this Act, a regulated operation has excess greenhouse gas emissions in a compliance period if the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, determined in accordance with the regulations on a carbon dioxide equivalent basis, attributable to the regulated operation for the compliance period exceeds the emission limit applicable to the regulated operation for the compliance period.
(2) The amount of excess greenhouse gas emissions of a regulated operation for a compliance period is the following:
(a) subject to paragraph (b), the amount reported in the compliance report under section 7 (1) submitted to the director for the compliance period;
(b) if one or more supplementary reports under section 7 (3), or corrected reports under section 7 (5.1), are submitted to the director in relation to the amount of excess greenhouse gas emissions for the compliance period, the amount reported in the most recent report.
(3) Despite subsection (2), if the director determines the amount of excess greenhouse gas emissions for the compliance period under section 7.1 (1), the amount of excess greenhouse gas emissions is one of the following amounts, as determined by the director:
(a) the amount determined by the director under section 7.1 (1);
(b) if the director accepts a supplementary report or corrected report referred to in subsection (2) (b), the amount reported in the report.
19 Section 6 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:
(2) Subject to the regulations, the operator of a regulated operation in a prescribed class of regulated operations that has excess greenhouse gas emissions in a compliance period may meet its compliance obligation by doing one or both of the following by the compliance obligation deadline:
(a) ensuring that compliance units are available in a compliance account of the regulated operation for retirement;
(b) making a monetary payment to the government.
(3) Subject to the regulations, the amount required to meet the compliance obligation under subsection (2) of a regulated operation for a compliance period is calculated at the following rates:
(a) one compliance unit for each tonne of excess greenhouse gas emissions in the compliance period;
(b) the dollar amount set out in column 1 of the Schedule for each tonne of excess greenhouse gas emissions in the compliance period set out opposite in column 2 of the Schedule.
20 The following section is added:
6.1 (1) This section applies if, as a result of a supplementary report under section 7 (3), a corrected report under section 7 (5.1) or a determination by the director under section 7.1, either of the following is corrected after the operator of a regulated operation has, under section 6 (2), met a compliance obligation, or the director has, under section 12 (1) [earned credits], issued earned credits to the operator of a regulated operation in relation to a compliance period:
(a) the emission limit for the regulated operation for the compliance period;
(b) the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, determined in accordance with the regulations on a carbon dioxide equivalent basis, attributable to the regulated operation for the compliance period.
(2) In the circumstances described in subsection (1), the operator of the regulated operation or the director, as applicable, must do the following, in accordance with the regulations:
(a) if the correction results in an increased amount required under section 6 (3), the operator must, within the prescribed period, meet the additional compliance obligation;
(b) if the correction results in a reduced amount required under section 6 (3), the director may do one or a combination of the following:
(i) issue, by crediting to a holding account of the operator of the regulated operation, compliance units equivalent to the amount of any overpayment made by the regulated operation;
(ii) issue a monetary refund equivalent to the amount of any overpayment made by the regulated operation;
(c) if the correction results in additional credits to be issued to the regulated operation under section 12, the director may issue, by crediting to a holding account of the operator, earned credits calculated in accordance with section 12 (1);
(d) if the correction results in fewer credits to be issued to the regulated operation under section 12, the operator must, within the prescribed period,
(i) ensure that the number of compliance units equal to the number of excess credits issued are available in a compliance account for the regulated operation for retirement or cancellation, or
(ii) make a monetary payment to the government equal to the number of excess credits issued, multiplied by the dollar amount set out in column 1 of the Schedule for the compliance period in which the correction is made as set out opposite in column 2 of the Schedule.
21 Section 7 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out everything before paragraph (a) and substituting "For each compliance period, in accordance with the regulations, the operator of a regulated operation must ensure that the reports required by the regulations respecting the following are submitted to the director:",
(b) by repealing subsection (1) (b),
(c) in subsection (1) (c) by striking out "schedule" and substituting "regulations",
(d) in subsection (1) (e) by striking out "the operator's compliance account" and substituting "a compliance account of the operator or the monetary amount paid, or both,",
(e) in subsection (2) by striking out "its compliance report" and substituting "a compliance report under subsection (1)",
(f) by repealing subsection (4),
(g) by adding the following subsections:
(5.1) If, within 7 years after a compliance report is submitted, the director has reasonable grounds to suspect that there is an error or omission in the report, the director may require that the operator of the reporting operation have a corrected report prepared in accordance with the regulations and submitted to the director by the date specified by the director.
(5.2) The operator of a reporting operation must comply with a requirement of the director under subsection (5.1) in relation to a compliance report unless the operator establishes to the satisfaction of the director that
(a) the compliance report is accurate and complete, or
(b) data is not available to correct the compliance report. ,
(h) in subsection (6) by adding "or a corrected report" after "supplementary report", and
(i) by repealing subsection (7) and substituting the following:
(7) If required by the director, the operator of a regulated operation must provide, by the date specified by the director,
(a) any additional information specified by the director in support of a compliance report,
(b) information that the director reasonably requires for the purposes of administering or ensuring compliance with this Act or the regulations, and
(c) any prescribed information.
(8) If required by the regulations or by the director, the operator of a regulated operation must ensure that a verification statement in relation to a supplementary report under subsection (3), a corrected report under subsection (5.1) or information provided under subsection (7) is prepared at the expense of the operator and submitted to the director
(a) in accordance with the regulations, or
(b) if no specific direction is prescribed, in accordance with the directions of the director.
(9) The director may
(a) require that a compliance report or information provided under subsection (7) be audited at the expense of the operator in accordance with the directions of the director, or
(b) conduct the audit, or authorize a person to conduct the audit, at the expense of the operator.
22 The following section is added to Division 1 of Part 3:
7.1 (1) The director may, in the circumstances set out in subsection (2), determine any of the following:
(a) the emission limit for a regulated operation for a compliance period;
(b) the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, in accordance with the regulations on a carbon dioxide equivalent basis, that is attributable to a regulated operation for a compliance period;
(c) the amount of excess greenhouse gas emissions of a regulated operation for a compliance period.
(2) The director may act under subsection (1) in relation to a regulated operation for a compliance period in any of the following circumstances:
(a) the most recent compliance report submitted to the director for the regulated operation for the compliance period does not completely and accurately disclose the information required to be included in the report;
(b) a compliance report required for the regulated operation for the compliance period was not submitted within the period required by the regulations or by the date specified by the director, as applicable;
(c) additional information required by the director in support of a compliance report for the regulated operation for the compliance period was not submitted by the date specified by the director;
(d) prescribed circumstances.
(3) Subsection (2) (a) does not apply in relation to inaccuracies, omissions or changes that are considered under the regulations to be immaterial.
23 Section 8 (2) is amended
(a) in paragraph (a) by striking out "the holding account" and substituting "a holding account", and
(b) in paragraph (b) by striking out "the" and substituting "a".
24 Section 9 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "Subject to section 10 (6)" and substituting "Subject to section 10 (6) and the regulations",
(b) by repealing subsection (3), and
(c) by adding the following subsections:
(4) If, at any time after the director accepts a plan for an emission offset project, the director has reasonable grounds to suspect that subsection (1) (a) does not apply, the director may require that the project proponent have a corrected plan prepared in the form and manner required by the regulations and submitted to the director by the date specified by the director.
(5) The director may require that a project proponent have a validation statement in relation to a corrected plan under subsection (4) prepared in accordance with the regulations and submitted to the director by the date specified by the director.
(6) A project proponent must comply with a requirement of the director under subsection (4) or (5).
25 Section 10 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) (f) (ii) by striking out "the holding account" and substituting "a holding account",
(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "a protocol established under subsection (1)" and substituting "the establishment or amendment of a protocol", and
(c) by adding the following subsection:
(4.1) The director must give notice to the project proponent of an accepted emission offset project of any amendment to a protocol that applies to the project.
26 Division 3 of Part 3 is repealed.
27 Section 12 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out ", on receipt of a compliance report and verification statement," and by striking out "subject to subsection (2), the director may issue, by crediting to the" and substituting "the director may issue, by crediting to a", and
(b) by repealing subsection (2).
28 Sections 13 to 19 are repealed and the following substituted:
13 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must, by regulation, establish a registry for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The registry must include the following accounts:
(a) holding accounts for regulated operations, and operators of regulated operations, to which the director may credit compliance units;
(b) holding accounts for accepted emission offset projects, and project proponents of accepted emission offset projects, to which the director may credit compliance units;
(c) a holding account for the government to which the director may credit offset units for the purpose of meeting the obligations under section 6 [requirements for achieving carbon neutral status] of the Climate Change Accountability Act;
(d) compliance accounts for regulated operations, and operators of regulated operations,
(i) to which operators may transfer compliance units for the purpose of meeting compliance obligations, and
(ii) from which the director may retire compliance units;
(e) a retirement account for the government to which the director may transfer compliance units;
(f) one or more contingency accounts for the government to which the director may transfer compliance units
(i) to compensate for reversals of greenhouse gas reductions or removals achieved by emission offset projects, or
(ii) for prescribed purposes.
14 (1) The minister may appoint a registry administrator as follows:
(a) if the registry is to be operated by the minister, the minister may appoint an employee under the Public Service Act as the registry administrator;
(b) if the registry is to be operated outside of government, the minister may appoint a person as the registry administrator subject to the minister entering into an administrative agreement with the person.
(2) The registry administrator must administer the registry in accordance with this Act, the regulations, the directions of the director and, if an administrative agreement is required, the administrative agreement.
(3) A registry administrator appointed under an administrative agreement is not an agent of the government for the purposes of the administration of the registry.
29 Division 6 of Part 3 is repealed and the following substituted:
Division 6 – Compliance Unit Suspension and Cancellation
20 The director may, in accordance with the regulations, suspend or cancel compliance units.
30 The following Division is added to Part 3:
Division 7 – Opted-in Operations and New Entrants
20.1 (1) The operator of an industrial operation that is not a reporting operation may, in accordance with the regulations, apply to the director for designation of the industrial operation as
(a) a reporting operation, or
(b) a reporting operation and a regulated operation.
(2) On application under subsection (1), the director may, if satisfied that the prescribed criteria are met, designate the industrial operation as a reporting operation, or as a reporting operation and a regulated operation, as applicable.
(3) The operator of an opted-in operation may, in accordance with the regulations, apply to the director for a designation under this section to be revoked.
(4) On application under subsection (3), the director may, if satisfied that the prescribed criteria are met, revoke the designation.
(5) A revocation of a designation is effective at the end of the reporting period during which the revocation is made.
20.2 (1) The operator of an industrial operation or a proposed industrial operation that is, or is expected to become, a regulated operation or a part of a regulated operation, may apply to the director, in accordance with the regulations, for designation of all or part of the industrial operation, or proposed industrial operation, as a new entrant.
(2) On application under subsection (1), the director may, if satisfied that the prescribed criteria are met, designate all or part of the industrial operation or proposed industrial operation as a new entrant.
(3) The director may, if the regulations so provide, do the following:
(a) if the new entrant is a regulated operation, exempt the new entrant from a compliance obligation;
(b) if the new entrant is a part of a regulated operation,
(i) exclude greenhouse gas emissions of the new entrant for the purposes of determining the greenhouse gas emissions that are attributable to the regulated operation, and
(ii) determine the emission limit for the regulated operation in accordance with the regulations.
31 Section 22 is amended
(a) by renumbering subsection (1) as subsection (1.1) and by adding the following subsection:
(1) An inspector may, on the inspector's own initiative or on information provided by any person, conduct an inspection for the purposes of administering or ensuring compliance with this Act or the regulations. , and
(b) in subsection (1.1) by striking out "ensuring compliance with this Act or the regulations" and substituting "an inspection".
32 Section 23 is repealed and the following substituted:
23 (1) The operator of a regulated operation is subject to the administrative penalty established by the regulations if a compliance report, or a determination made by the director under section 7.1, indicates that the operator has failed to meet the operator's compliance obligation by the compliance obligation deadline.
(2) Subsection (1) applies whether the compliance report is submitted, or the determination made, before or after the compliance obligation deadline.
33 Section 24 is repealed.
34 Section 26 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "24 (2) or",
(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "24" and substituting "23" and by striking out "after the penalty is imposed", and
(c) in subsection (3) by striking out ", 24" and by striking out "the operator's compliance account" and substituting "a compliance account of the operator".
35 Section 27 is amended by adding "or the regulations" after "under section 6 (2) [compliance obligation]".
36 Section 30 (2) is amended
(a) in paragraph (a) by striking out "(2), (3), (4) or (6)" and substituting "(3), (5.2), (6), (7) or (8)",
(b) in paragraph (b) by striking out "(4) or (6)" and substituting "(5.2), (6), (7) or (8)", and
(c) by adding the following paragraph:
(c) contravenes section 9 (6) [emission offset projects].
37 Section 40 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by repealing paragraph (a), and
(b) in subsection (2) (a) by striking out "(a) or".
38 The following sections are added to Part 6:
40.1 (1) The director may delegate to any person any of the director's powers and duties under this Act, except the power to establish protocols and the power to delegate under this section.
(2) A delegation may be made subject to the terms and conditions that the director considers necessary or advisable.
(3) If the director has delegated a power or duty under subsection (1), a reference to the director in relation to that power or duty includes the delegate.
40.2 A person is not entitled to be indemnified for the retirement, suspension, cancellation or expiry of a compliance unit.
39 Section 46 (4) (c) is amended
(a) by repealing subparagraphs (i) and (ii) and substituting the following:
(i) reporting operations, regulated operations, opted-in operations, new entrants and industrial operations that are not reporting operations,
(ii) different reporting operations, regulated operations, opted-in operations, new entrants and industrial operations that are not reporting operations,
(ii.1) different classes of reporting operations, regulated operations, opted-in operations, new entrants and industrial operations that are not reporting operations,
(ii.2) different facilities and classes of facilities,
(ii.3) different parts of an industrial operation,
(ii.4) different phases of a regulated operation,
(ii.5) different reporting periods and compliance periods, ,
(b) in subparagraph (iii) by adding "or types" after "classes", and
(c) in subparagraph (iv) by adding "classes or" before "types".
40 Section 47 is amended
(a) by renumbering the section as section 47 (1),
(b) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraph:
(a.1) requiring the operator of a reporting operation, for the purposes of providing information required under section 3 (7) (c) [emission reports] or 7 (7) (c) [compliance reports], to undertake or allow to be undertaken investigations, tests, surveys or other work in relation to the operations and emissions of the reporting operation; ,
(c) by repealing subsection (1) (b) and substituting the following:
(b) respecting the determination of emission limits for compliance periods for regulated operations;
(b.1) designating classes of reporting operations as regulated operations;
(b.2) amending the Schedule
(i) to amend a dollar amount set out in column 1,
(ii) to amend a compliance period set out in column 2, and
(iii) to specify additional dollar amounts and compliance periods, in columns 1 and 2, respectively;
(b.3) respecting new entrants, including, without limitation,
(i) respecting applications to the director for designation as a new entrant, including respecting the time by which and the manner in which an application must be made and the information that an applicant must provide to the director,
(ii) establishing the criteria that an applicant must meet in order to be designated as a new entrant,
(iii) prescribing the matters that the director must take into account in considering an application, and
(iv) respecting the start and end dates, and duration, of new entrant periods; ,
(d) in subsection (1) (c) by striking out "classes" and substituting "operators",
(e) in subsection (1) (e) by striking out "or a regulated operation" and substituting "or a regulated operation, or a part of an industrial operation, reporting operation or regulated operation",
(f) in subsection (1) (e) by striking out "and" at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by adding the following subparagraphs:
(iv) greenhouse gas emissions associated with the generation and transmission of energy products that are purchased and used by the industrial operation, and
(v) greenhouse gas emissions that are captured for the purpose of sequestering them from the atmosphere and are not emitted to the atmosphere; ,
(g) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraph:
(f.1) authorizing the director, in specified circumstances and in the specified manner, to prorate the following:
(i) the amount required to meet the compliance obligation of a regulated operation for a compliance period;
(ii) the amount of earned credits issued under section 12 [earned credits]; ,
(h) in subsection (1) (g) (i) by adding "operators of" before "industrial operations",
(i) in subsection (1) (g) by striking out "and" at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by adding the following subparagraph:
(ii.1) requiring industrial operations to report to the director in relation to processes of the industrial operation and the energy, physical and service inputs, and energy, physical, service and product outputs, of the operation, and ,
(j) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraphs:
(i) authorizing the director to determine whether a facility is a part of a regulated operation;
(j) respecting opted-in operations, including, without limitation,
(i) respecting applications to the director for designation of an industrial operation as an opted-in operation, including respecting the time by which and the manner in which an application must be made and the information that an applicant must provide to the director,
(ii) establishing the criteria that an applicant must meet in order to be designated as a reporting operation, or as a reporting operation and a regulated operation,
(iii) prescribing the matters that the director must take into account in considering an application, and
(iv) exempting an opted-in operation from a reporting or verification requirement under this Act and establishing reporting and verification requirements for an opted-in operation that has been exempted. , and
(k) by adding the following subsection:
(2) A regulation under subsection (1) (b) respecting the determination of the emission limit for a compliance period for a regulated operation may be made applicable whether the regulation is made before or after the beginning, or the end, of the compliance period.
41 Section 48 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraphs:
(b.1) providing for the removal of a document referred to in section 9 (2) [emission offset projects] from the website on which it is posted;
(e.1) respecting protocols; ,
(b) in subsection (1) (f) (v) by striking out "respecting the contingency account" and substituting "respecting contingency accounts",
(c) in subsection (1) (f) (v) (A) and (B) by striking out "the contingency account" and substituting "a contingency account",
(d) in subsection (1) (f) (v) by striking out "and" at the end of clause (A) and by adding the following clause:
(A.1) respecting the portion of offset units that must be issued into a contingency account for a project that is in a class prescribed under clause (A), and ,
(e) in subsection (1) (h) by striking out "after" and substituting "in relation to an emission offset project, whether before or after",
(f) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraphs:
(j) requiring a project proponent to ensure that compliance units are available in a holding account of the project proponent for the purposes of
(i) transfer of the compliance units from the holding account to a contingency account to compensate for the retirement of compliance units from the contingency account in connection with the emission offset project, or
(ii) retirement of the compliance units from the holding account to compensate for a reversal of greenhouse gas reductions or removals achieved by the emission offset project;
(k) authorizing the director to revoke the acceptance of an emission offset project and respecting the circumstances in which an acceptance may be revoked. ,
(g) by repealing subsection (2),
(h) by repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:
(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations respecting compliance units, including, without limitation, the following regulations:
(a) respecting the issuance, transfer, retirement, suspension, cancellation and expiry of compliance units and the reissuance of compliance units retired or cancelled in error;
(b) respecting the use of compliance units, including, without limitation,
(i) establishing restrictions on the use of compliance units to meet an obligation under the Act or regulations or to satisfy an administrative penalty, and
(ii) authorizing the director to establish restrictions on the use of compliance units to meet an obligation under the Act or regulations or to satisfy an administrative penalty;
(c) authorizing the director to require a person to transfer compliance units to the director, or make a monetary payment to the government, if the director determines that compliance units were issued in error. , and
(i) by repealing subsection (5).
42 Section 49 is amended
(a) in paragraph (d) by striking out "and emission offset project reports" and substituting ", emission offset project reports and information provided to the director", and
(b) in paragraph (e) by striking out "prepared and submitted to the director respecting a supplementary report under section 3 (3) [emission reports] or a supplementary report under section 7 (3) [compliance reports]" and substituting "referred to in section 3 (8) [emission reports] or 7 (8) [compliance reports] prepared and submitted to the director".
43 Section 50 is amended
(a) in paragraph (b) by repealing subparagraphs (i) and (ii) and substituting the following:
(i) respecting accounts that may or must be included in the registry in addition to the accounts required under section 13 (2) [registry], including, without limitation, the circumstances in which a regulated operation, an operator of a regulated operation, an accepted emission offset project, a project proponent of an accepted emission offset project or other person may or must hold a type of account,
(i.1) authorizing the director to authorize a person, other than the operator of a regulated operation or a project proponent, to hold a holding account to which compliance units may be credited, and establishing restrictions on the person's participation in the registry,
(i.2) respecting the information that must be provided, and the requirements that must be met, by a person referred to in subparagraph (i.1) in order to hold a holding account,
(i.3) respecting transactions through the registry, including, without limitation, respecting
(A) the tracking of transactions, and
(B) the assignment of identifiers to compliance units,
(i.4) respecting the tracking of monetary payments made by operators of regulated operations,
(i.5) respecting the closing of registry accounts,
(ii) respecting the fees and other charges that may be established and collected by the registry administrator in relation to registry services if the registry is operated by the minister,
(ii.1) if the registry is operated outside of government, authorizing the registry administrator, in accordance with the administrative agreement, to establish and collect fees and other charges in relation to registry services, ,
(b) by repealing paragraph (c) and substituting the following:
(c) requiring account holders to report information relating to compliance units and their activities in the registry, including, without limitation, information respecting the price associated with, and purpose of, registry transactions;
(c.1) respecting to whom reports under paragraph (c) are to be submitted and the timing, form, content and manner of submission of the reports; , and
(c) by adding the following paragraph:
(d.1) respecting the removal of information from the registry; .
44 Section 51 is amended
(a) by repealing paragraph (a) and substituting the following:
(a) prescribing the administrative penalties, schedules of administrative penalties and manner of calculating administrative penalties to which an operator of a regulated operation is subject under section 23 [automatic administrative penalties: failure to meet compliance obligation], which may include either or both
(i) a monetary amount to be paid to the government, and
(ii) an obligation to make compliance units available in a compliance account; ,
(b) by adding the following paragraphs:
(a.1) in relation to administrative penalties under section 23, providing for different administrative penalties in different circumstances;
(g.1) providing for refunds or compliance units to be issued in relation to an administrative penalty under section 23 that has been satisfied and respecting the circumstances in which a refund or compliance unit is to be issued; , and
(c) in paragraph (b) by striking out "24 or".
45 Section 53 (1) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(c.1) authorizing the minister to require any person to provide to the minister the information specified by the minister for the purposes of conducting research, creating greenhouse gas emission inventories and developing policies and programs for the reduction of greenhouse gases, including, without limitation, information respecting
(i) sources of greenhouse gas emissions,
(ii) equipment that may be a source of greenhouse gas emissions, and
(iii) carbon capture, utilization, sequestration and storage; .
46 The Schedule of Regulated Operations and Emission Limits is repealed and the following substituted:
Schedule
Compliance Charge Rates
| Item | Column 1 Compliance Charge Rate (Dollars per tonne of excess greenhouse gas emissions, on a carbon dioxide equivalent basis) |
Column 2 Compliance Period |
| 1 | 80 | 2024 calendar year |
| 2 | 95 | 2025 calendar year |
| 3 | 110 | 2026 calendar year |
| 4 | 125 | 2027 calendar year |
| 5 | 140 | 2028 calendar year |
| 6 | 155 | 2029 calendar year |
| 7 | 170 | 2030 calendar year |
Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Amendment Act, 2016
47 Sections 1 (b), (c), (e) and (f), 2, 5, 9, 10 and 15 of the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Amendment Act, 2016, S.B.C. 2016, c. 15, are repealed.
Home Owner Grant Act
48 Section 13.1 of the Home Owner Grant Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 194, is repealed.
49 Section 17.22 (11) is amended by striking out "Despite section 13.1 [access to and disclosure of records], the" and substituting "The".
50 The following sections are added:
17.261 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means,
(a) in subsection (5) (k), an authorized person as defined in section 13.1 of the Assessment Act,
(b) in subsection (5) (l), a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, to assist in carrying out the provisions of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act, and
(c) in any other case, a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"designated person" has the same meaning as in section 241 (10) of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position,
and, for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), "official" includes a designated person;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section or section 17.22 (11) [disclosure of amount of lien], an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) the Land Tax Deferment Act.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any grant or refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Land Tax Deferment Act or an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) [powers of commissioner in conducting investigations, audits or inquiries] and 61 (1) [powers, duties and protections of adjudicator] of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15 [staff in government or government organizations], 16 [access to information, documents or things] and 17 [summons and requests] of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information relating to a person, other than information that may be requested from the grant administrator under section 17.22 (11),
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(f) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(g) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17 [write off of assets and uncollectable debts], 18 [extinguishment of debts] and 19 [remissions] of the Financial Administration Act;
(h) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(i) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(j) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information;
(k) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Assessment Act;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes set out in section 4 (1) (a) [purposes of authority] of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 17.262, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (g) to (l) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding in relation to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 [use of personal information] or 33 [disclosure of personal information] of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
17.262 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 17.261;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 17.261 (5).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) the Land Tax Deferment Act, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 17.261 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
17.35 (1) Without limiting section 5 [general offence] of the Offence Act as it applies for the purposes of this Act, a person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 17.261 (2) [information sharing], or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 17.261 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 17.261 (5) (a) to (d), (g), (h) or (j) to (l), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
51 Sections 18 (2) (h) and 18.1 (8) are repealed.
Income Tax Act
52 Section 1 (7) (i) of the Income Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 215, is amended in column 1 of the table by striking out "Canada Customs and Revenue Agency" and substituting "Canada Revenue Agency".
53 Section 1 (8) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(c.01) the definition of "source individual" in section 120.4 of the federal Act as that definition applies for the purposes of section 4.84 of this Act; .
54 Section 1 (8) (c.2) and (d.2) is amended by striking out "sections 8.1 and 8.2" and substituting "sections 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3".
55 Section 1 (8) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(d.11) section 231.6; .
56 Section 4.51 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(3.1) For greater certainty, section 64.01 of the federal Act applies for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section.
57 Section 4.52 (1) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(e.1) except in respect of the 2023 taxation year, section 8.3 (6) [renter's tax credit]; .
58 Section 4.52 (1) (f) is repealed.
59 Section 4.71 (2) (b) (ii) is amended by striking out "(f), (g) or (j)" and substituting "(f) or (g)".
60 Section 4.71 (2) (b) (ii) is amended by striking out "section 110 (1) (d) to (d.3), (f) or (g)" and substituting "section 110 (1) (d) to (g)".
61 Section 4.721 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(1.2) For greater certainty, section 66 (12.6001) of the federal Act applies for the purposes of paragraphs (f) and (g) of the definition of "BC flow-through mining expenditure" in subsection (1) of this section.
62 Section 8.1 (3) is amended
(a) in paragraph (a) of the description of "deduction" by striking out "$30 000" and substituting "the prescribed amount", and
(b) in paragraph (b) of the description of "deduction" by striking out "$35 000" and substituting "the prescribed amount".
63 The following section is added:
8.3 (1) In this section:
"adjusted income", in relation to an eligible individual for a taxation year, means the total of all amounts each of which would be the income for the year of the individual or the individual's cohabiting spouse or common-law partner if, in computing that income,
(a) no amount were included in respect of a gain described in section 40 (3.21) [deemed capital gain under section 180.01] of the federal Act,
(b) no amount were included in respect of any gain from a disposition of property to which section 79 [surrender of property by debtor] of the federal Act applies,
(c) no amount were included under section 56 (6) [universal child care benefit] of the federal Act,
(d) no amount were deductible under section 60 (y) [repayment of universal child care benefit] of the federal Act,
(e) no amount were included under section 56 (1) (q.1) [registered disability savings plan payments] of the federal Act, and
(f) no amount were deductible under section 60 (z) [repayment under the Canada Disability Savings Act] of the federal Act;
"cohabiting spouse or common-law partner" has the same meaning as in section 122.6 of the federal Act;
"eligible individual" has the same meaning as in section 8 (1) [refundable sales tax credit] of this Act;
"eligible rental unit" means a living accommodation in British Columbia but does not include prescribed rental units;
"eligible tenant" means an eligible individual who
(a) occupies an eligible rental unit under a tenancy agreement, licence, sublease agreement or similar arrangement for at least 6 one-month periods in the taxation year, and
(b) paid rent, or had rent paid on their behalf, to occupy the eligible rental unit;
"rent" does not include the following payments:
(a) a payment to a person who is not at arm's length as described in section 251 (1) of the federal Act;
(b) a payment in respect of a capital lease;
(c) a payment in respect of an amount that is not included in computing the income of the taxpayer under section 6 (6) (a) of the federal Act;
(d) a payment in respect of a campsite, moorage or a manufactured home site as defined in the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act;
(e) a prescribed payment.
(2) Despite the definition of "eligible tenant" in subsection (1), a person is not an eligible tenant for a taxation year if the person
(a) dies before the end of the year,
(b) is, at the end of the year, a person described in section 149 (1) (a) or (b) of the federal Act, or
(c) is, at the end of the year, confined to a prison or similar institution and has been confined for a period of, or periods the total of which in the year was, more than 6 months.
(3) Section 122.5 (6.2) [non-residents and part-year residents] and (7) [effect of bankruptcy] of the federal Act applies for the purposes of this section.
(4) An individual is deemed to have paid an amount determined under subsections (5) and (6) on December 31 of the taxation year on account of the individual's tax payable under this Act for a taxation year if
(a) the individual is an eligible tenant, and
(b) the individual files, with the individual's return of income under section 29 for the taxation year, a form provided by the minister that contains the information necessary to establish the individual's claim for the tax credit under this section.
(5) The amount that an individual is deemed to have paid under subsection (4) is, subject to subsection (6), $400 in respect of the individual.
(6) The amount determined under subsection (5) is reduced by 2% of the amount by which the adjusted income of the individual claiming the tax credit under this section exceeds $60 000 in respect of the individual.
(7) Despite subsection (4), if, on December 31 of the taxation year, an individual is the cohabiting spouse or common-law partner of another individual and both individuals are eligible tenants, only the individual designated by the minister is eligible for the tax credit under this section.
(8) Without limiting section 48 (1) and (2) [power to make regulations], the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) prescribing rental units or classes of rental units for the purposes of the definition of "eligible rental unit" in subsection (1) of this section;
(b) prescribing types of payments for the purposes of the definition of "rent" in subsection (1) of this section.
(9) Regulations made under subsection (8) may be made retroactive to January 1, 2023 or a later date, and if made retroactive are deemed to have come into force on the date specified in the regulation.
64 Section 13.092 (2) is amended
(a) in paragraph (a) in the formula by striking out "benefit" and substituting "benefit + conditional supplement",
(b) in paragraph (a) by repealing the description of "benefit" and substituting the following:
| benefit | = | the amount based on the number of qualified dependants in respect of whom the individual was an eligible individual at the beginning of the month, as follows: | ||
| (i) | for one qualified dependant, $1 750; | |||
| (ii) | for 2 qualified dependants, $2 850; | |||
| (iii) | for 3 or more qualified dependants, the amount determined by the following formula: | |||
| $2 850 + [$900 x (number of qualified dependants – 2)]; , | ||||
(c) in paragraph (a) by adding the following description immediately after the description of "benefit":
| conditional supplement | = | one of the following amounts: | ||
| (i) | if, at the beginning of the month, the individual is an eligible individual in respect of at least one qualified dependant and is not the cohabiting spouse or common-law partner of another individual, $500; | |||
| (ii) | in any other case, nil; , and | |||
(d) in paragraph (b) by repealing the description of "benefit" and substituting the following:
| benefit | = | the amount based on the number of qualified dependants in respect of whom the individual was an eligible individual at the beginning of the month, as follows: | ||
| (i) | for one qualified dependant, $775; | |||
| (ii) | for 2 qualified dependants, $1 525; | |||
| (iii) | for 3 or more qualified dependants, the amount determined by the following formula: | |||
| $1 525 + [$725 x (number of qualified dependants – 2)]; . | ||||
65 Section 20.1 (2) (c) is amended by striking out "January 1, 2024" and substituting "January 1, 2027".
66 Section 25.1 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(1.1) For greater certainty, section 66 (12.6001) of the federal Act applies for the purposes of paragraph (f.2) of the definition of "excluded expense" in subsection (1) of this section.
67 Section 29 is amended
(a) in subsection (2) (b) by adding the following subparagraph:
(i.3) section 8.3 (4) [renter's tax credit]; , and
(b) in subsection (3) (b) (i) by adding the following clause:
(A.3) section 8.3 (4); .
68 Section 29 (2) (b) is amended by adding the following subparagraph:
(xi) section 276 [clean buildings tax credit].
69 Section 29 (2.2) is amended
(a) by striking out "the reference in that section to "paragraph (4) (a), (b) or (c)" must be read as "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (c) or (e)" and" and substituting "the reference in that section to "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1) or (c)" must be read as "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (c) or (e)" and", and
(b) by renumbering paragraph (c) as paragraph (e).
70 Section 29 (2.2) is amended by striking out "the reference in that section to "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1) or (c)" must be read as "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (c) or (e)" and" and substituting "the reference in that section to "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (b.3) or (c)" must be read as "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (b.3), (c) or (e)" and".
71 Section 29 (2.2) is amended by striking out "the reference in that section to "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (b.3) or (c)" must be read as "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (b.3), (c) or (e)" and" and substituting "the reference in that section to "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (b.3), (b.4) or (c)" must be read as "paragraph (4) (a), (b), (b.1), (b.3), (b.4), (c) or (e)" and".
72 Section 33 (3) is amended by adding ", 125.6 (2) or (2.1)" after "125.5 (3)".
73 Section 33 (3) is amended by striking out "or 135 of this Act" and substituting ", 135 or 276 of this Act".
74 Section 38 (1.01) is amended
(a) by renumbering paragraph (h) as paragraph (m), and
(b) by renumbering paragraph (i) as paragraph (n).
75 Section 38 (1.01) is amended by renumbering paragraph (j) as paragraph (o).
76 Section 40 (1.1) is repealed and the following substituted:
(1.1) Section 164 (1) (b), (1.1) to (1.31), (1.5) to (1.53) and (1.7) to (7) of the federal Act applies for the purposes of this Act.
77 Section 42 (2) (a) is amended by striking out "or" at the end of subparagraph (ii.2) and by adding the following subparagraph:
(ii.3) the amount that, under section 8.3 (5) and (6), the individual is deemed to have paid on account of the individual's tax payable under this Act for a taxation year, or .
78 Section 47 (3) is amended by striking out "and 138 (2) of this Act" and substituting ", 138 (2) and 281 (2) of this Act".
79 Section 59 is amended by adding ", 231.8" after "231.7".
80 Section 59 is amended by striking out "Sections 231 to 231.5, 231.7, 231.8" and substituting "Sections 231 to 231.8".
81 Section 64 (5) (c) (iii.3) and (iii.4) is amended by striking out ", including for greater certainty a purpose set out in section 13.1 (3) (b) or (c) of that Act".
82 Section 68 (6) is amended by striking out "Canada Customs and Revenue Agency" and substituting "Canada Revenue Agency".
83 Section 77 is repealed and the following substituted:
77 (1) In this section, "public body" has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
(2) A public body must, on the written request of any of the following persons, provide without charge the information the person considers necessary for the purpose of administering and enforcing the Act:
(a) the deputy head;
(b) the Commissioner of Income Tax;
(c) an officer authorized by the deputy head.
84 Section 77.2 is amended by striking out "The British Columbia Assessment Authority must" and substituting "Without limiting section 77, the British Columbia Assessment Authority must".
85 Section 79 (1) is amended by repealing paragraph (b) (iv) of the definition of "accredited qualified BC labour expenditure" and substituting the following:
(iv) if the corporation first incurs on or after July 1, 2020 and before February 22, 2022 an amount that is an accredited BC labour expenditure in respect of the production, all amounts of the accredited BC labour expenditure of the corporation in respect of the production that are incurred more than 120 days before the date on which the corporation gives notice under section 84.1, unless the corporation's eligibility certificate issued under section 86 in respect of the production is revoked and notice is given on or before the day that is 30 days after the revocation date;
(v) if the corporation first incurs on or after February 22, 2022 an amount that is an accredited BC labour expenditure in respect of the production, all amounts of the accredited BC labour expenditure of the corporation in respect of the production that are incurred before the date on which the corporation gives notice under section 84.1, unless notice is given on or before the later of the following:
(A) the day that is 120 days after the corporation first incurs an amount that is an accredited BC labour expenditure in respect of the production;
(B) if the corporation's eligibility certificate issued under section 86 in respect of the production is revoked, the day that is 30 days after the revocation date; .
86 Section 134 (2) is amended in paragraph (b) (iii) of the description of "eligible salary and wages" by striking out "September 1, 2023" and substituting "September 1, 2028".
Insurance Premium Tax Act
87 Section 1 (1) of the Insurance Premium Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 232, is amended in paragraph (b) of the definition of "amount owing" by striking out "section 15.1" and substituting "section 12.4 or 15.1".
88 Section 2 is amended
(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:
(1) A taxable insurer must register with the commissioner no later than 30 days after the date the taxable insurer begins to carry on insurance business in British Columbia. , and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(1.1) A person who ceases to be a taxable insurer must notify the commissioner no later than 30 days after the date the person ceases to be a taxable insurer.
89 Section 6 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out ", in the form the commissioner determines," and by striking out ", together with other information the commissioner requires",
(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "must deliver to the commissioner a return in the form the commissioner determines, together with other information the commissioner requires" and substituting "must deliver a return to the commissioner", and
(c) by adding the following subsections:
(5) A return must be in the form and contain the information required by the commissioner.
(6) A person required to deliver a return must
(a) file the return electronically in the manner required by the commissioner, and
(b) file, with the return, any other information or records required by the commissioner.
90 Section 6 (4) is amended by striking out "any information or return" and substituting "any return", by striking out "a further return or information" and substituting "a further return" and by striking out "demand the information or return" and substituting "demand the return".
91 The following section is added:
7.2 (1) If a taxpayer fails to pay a fee imposed under section 12.4, the taxpayer must pay to the government interest on the amount unpaid from the date of the first notice of assessment for that fee until the date of payment.
(2) Interest payable under subsection (1) must be calculated at the rate and in the manner prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
92 Section 12.1 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(6) A person must not
(a) interfere with, hinder or molest a person doing anything that the person is authorized to do under this section, or
(b) prevent or attempt to prevent a person from doing anything that the person is authorized to do under this section.
93 Section 12.2 is repealed and the following substituted:
12.2 When required by the commissioner, a person must provide to the commissioner all records that the commissioner considers necessary to determine whether this Act and the regulations are being or have been complied with.
94 The following section is added:
12.3 (1) For any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act or the regulations, the commissioner may, by giving a person a demand notice, require from the person
(a) any information or additional information,
(b) the production of any records, or
(c) a written statement.
(2) A demand notice under subsection (1)
(a) must be given by
(i) leaving the demand notice with the person, or
(ii) mailing the demand notice to the person by registered mail addressed to the person's address as stated in the person's last return made under this Act or as last known to the commissioner,
(b) must specify a reasonable time by which the person must comply with the demand notice, and
(c) in relation to a requirement under subsection (1) (c), may require the written statement to be made by way of affidavit or statutory declaration.
(3) A person to whom a demand notice is given under this section must comply with the notice within the time specified in the notice.
(4) The commissioner may issue a document certifying one or both of the following, and the document is proof of the facts certified in it:
(a) a demand notice was given to a person in accordance with subsection (2);
(b) a person has failed to comply with subsection (3) in respect of a demand notice given to the person under this section.
95 The following section is added:
12.4 (1) If the commissioner is satisfied that it is necessary to attend at a location outside British Columbia for the purpose of determining whether a person is complying with or has complied with this Act and the regulations, the commissioner may impose on the person a fee payable to the government in an amount not exceeding the amount calculated under subsection (2) in respect of attending at that location.
(2) Subject to the regulations, the commissioner may calculate the amount for the purposes of subsection (1) based on
(a) fees set by the commissioner, or
(b) a manner of calculating fees that is set by the commissioner.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the fees and manner set by the commissioner may be different for different circumstances defined by the commissioner or for attending at different locations.
(4) In imposing a fee under subsection (1), the commissioner may not impose a fee in respect of attending at a location more than 4 years before the date of the first notice of assessment for that fee.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purposes of subsection (2), respecting the calculation of an amount for the purposes of subsection (1), including, without limitation, respecting a maximum amount that may be calculated.
96 Section 13 is amended
(a) in subsection (2) by striking out "deliver notice" and substituting "give notice", and
(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "On delivery of the notice" and substituting "On the giving of the notice".
97 Section 14 is amended
(a) in subsection (2) by striking out "by mailing a notice, dated on the day of mailing, to the taxpayer's last known address", and
(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "the day on which the notice of assessment is issued" and substituting "the date of the notice of assessment".
98 The following section is added:
14.1 (1) If a notice of assessment is sent by ordinary mail, registered mail or electronic mail, the notice, for the purposes of this Act, is deemed to have been given on the date of that notice.
(2) The date of a notice of assessment is the date stated on the notice.
99 Section 16 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(2.01) If the commissioner imposes a fee under section 12.4 on a person, the commissioner must assess the person for the amount of the fee payable under that section.
100 Section 17 (4) is amended by striking out "section 16 (2.1)" and substituting "section 16 (2.01) or (2.1)".
101 The following section is added:
27.2 The commissioner may at any time waive or cancel all or part of any penalty otherwise payable by a person under this Act.
102 Sections 28 and 29 are repealed and the following substituted:
28 A person who fails to comply with either of the following provisions is liable to a penalty equal to $500:
(a) section 2 (1);
(b) section 2 (1.1).
29 A taxpayer who fails to deliver a return under section 6 (1) or (2) in respect of a calendar year or contract, within the time required under this Act, is liable to a penalty equal to the total of
(a) 5% of the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act in respect of the calendar year or contract on the date the return was required to be delivered, and
(b) the amount determined by the following formula:
amount = 1% x A x B
| where | ||||
| A | = | the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act in respect of the calendar year or contract on the date the return was required to be delivered; | ||
| B | = | the number of months, not exceeding 12 and rounded down to the nearest whole number, in the period beginning on the date the return was required to be delivered and ending on the earlier of | ||
| (i) | the date the return was delivered, and | |||
| (ii) | the date a penalty is imposed under this section on the taxpayer. | |||
103 The following sections are added:
29.1 If all of the following apply:
(a) a taxpayer fails to deliver a return under section 6 (1) or (2) in respect of a calendar year or contract within the time required under the Act;
(b) the taxpayer subsequently fails to furnish or deliver a return under section 6 (4) in respect of the calendar year or contract within the time required under the Act;
(c) a penalty was imposed on the taxpayer under section 29 in respect of a failure to deliver a return referred to in that section for any of the 3 preceding calendar years,
the taxpayer is liable to a penalty equal to the total of
(d) 10% of the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act in respect of the calendar year or contract on the date the return referred to in paragraph (a) was required to be delivered, and
(e) the amount determined by the following formula:
amount = 2% x A x B
| where | ||||
| A | = | the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act in respect of the calendar year or contract on the date the return referred to in paragraph (a) was required to be delivered; | ||
| B | = | the number of months, not exceeding 20 and rounded down to the nearest whole number, in the period beginning on the date the return referred to in paragraph (a) was required to be delivered and ending on the earlier of | ||
| (i) | the date the return was delivered, and | |||
| (ii) | the date a penalty is imposed under this section on the taxpayer. | |||
29.2 If a person who is required to deliver a return fails to include in the return any required information or fails to deliver with the return any other required information or records, the person is liable to a penalty of $100 for each failure.
104 Section 30 is repealed and the following substituted:
30 (1) A person who fails to comply with a provision specified in subsection (2) is liable, in respect of each failure, to a penalty equal to the greater of
(a) $100, and
(b) $25 for each day during which the failure continues, to a maximum of $2 500.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the following provisions are specified:
(a) section 12.2;
(b) section 12.3 (3).
105 The following sections are added:
30.1 A person who contravenes section 12.1 (6) (a) or (b) is liable to a penalty of $100 for each contravention.
30.2 (1) In this section, "additional tax" means the amount by which the tax payable under this Act in respect of a calendar year or contract, calculated on the basis of accurate and complete information, exceeds the tax payable in respect of the calendar year or contract, calculated on the basis of the false statement or omission described in subsection (2).
(2) If a person knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence, makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false statement or an omission in a return, notice or other record delivered or supplied or in information supplied under this Act in respect of a calendar year or contract, the taxpayer is liable to a penalty equal to the greater of
(a) $100, and
(b) 50% of the additional tax.
30.3 (1) Section 163.2 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) applies for the purposes of this Act with the changes the circumstances require for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), in applying section 163.2 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) for the purposes of this Act, the following rules apply:
(a) a reference in that section to the Income Tax Act (Canada) is to be read as a reference to this Act;
(b) a reference in that section to an assessment is to be read as a reference to an assessment under this Act;
(c) that section is to be read without reference to the definition of "excluded activity" in subsection (1) of that section and without reference to subsections (7) and (8) (b) (i) and (ii) of that section;
(d) subsection (5) of that section is to be read as if
(i) the reference to "subsection 163 (2)" were a reference to section 30.2 (2) of this Act, and
(ii) the reference to "return filed for the purposes of this Act" were a reference to "return, notice or other record delivered or supplied or in information supplied under this Act";
(e) subsection (10) of that section must be read as if the reference to section 163 (3) were a reference to subsection (3) of this section;
(f) subsection (15) of that section must be read as if the reference to "or an employee engaged in an excluded activity" were excluded.
(3) In an appeal to the Supreme Court under section 18 of this Act, the onus is on the minister to establish the facts justifying the assessment of a penalty to which a person is liable under this section.
106 Sections 31 and 32 are repealed.
107 The following sections are added:
32.1 Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act or the regulations.
32.2 A person who does any of the following commits an offence:
(a) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive statement in a return, notice or other record required to be delivered or supplied under this Act;
(b) destroys, alters, mutilates, hides or otherwise disposes of a record to evade payment of an amount to be paid to the government under this Act;
(c) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive entry in a record related to an amount to be paid to the government under this Act;
(d) omits, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the omission of, a material particular in a record required to be kept under this Act;
(e) makes or uses, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making or use of, a record in a false or deceptive manner in order to obtain a tax benefit;
(f) wilfully, in any manner, evades or attempts to evade payment of tax payable under this Act;
(g) conspires with any person to do anything described in paragraphs (a) to (f).
32.3 (1) An individual who commits an offence under section 32.2 is liable to
(a) a fine of not less than 50% and not more than 200% of the amount of tax that was sought to be evaded,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or
(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
(2) A corporation that commits an offence under section 32.2 is liable to a fine of not less than 50% and not more than 200% of the amount of tax that was sought to be evaded.
32.4 (1) A person commits an offence if the person contravenes any of the following provisions:
(a) section 12.1 (6) (a) or (b);
(b) section 12.2;
(c) section 12.3 (3).
(2) An individual who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable to
(a) a fine of not more than $100 000,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or
(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
(3) A corporation that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $100 000.
32.5 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 38 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 38 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with taxpayer information for a particular purpose under section 38 (5) (a) to (c), (e), (f), (i) to (k) or (m), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or
(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
108 Section 33 is repealed and the following substituted:
33 (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, an employee, officer, director or agent of the corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the offence also commits that offence, whether or not the corporation is prosecuted for the offence.
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee, officer, director or agent of the defendant, whether or not the employee, officer, director or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the defendant establishes that the defendant exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.
109 Section 34 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "A notice, other than a notice of assessment," and substituting "Subject to this section, a notice, other than a notice of assessment,", and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(2.1) Subsections (1) (a) and (b) and (2) do not apply to a demand notice under section 12.3.
110 Section 37 is repealed.
111 The following sections are added:
37.1 A person required to pay an amount to the government under this Act must pay the amount electronically in the manner required by the commissioner.
37.2 If, under this Act, an amount must or may be paid to the government, the amount is conclusively deemed to be paid on the date it is received by the government.
112 Section 38 is repealed and the following substituted:
38 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code;
"taxpayer information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more taxpayers,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the taxpayer to whom the information relates;
"US state official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of a state of the United States of America, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any taxpayer information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any taxpayer information, or
(c) knowingly use any taxpayer information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any taxpayer information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person taxpayer information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person taxpayer information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide taxpayer information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide taxpayer information to a US state official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of a state of the United States of America that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(e) provide taxpayer information, or allow inspection of or access to taxpayer information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(f) provide taxpayer information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 or 242 of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(g) provide taxpayer information relating to a taxpayer
(i) to the taxpayer, and
(ii) with the consent of the taxpayer, to any other person;
(h) use taxpayer information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the taxpayer to whom the information relates;
(i) provide taxpayer information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(j) provide taxpayer information to the BC Financial Services Authority, established under section 2 of the Financial Services Authority Act, solely for the purposes of administering the Financial Institutions Act or another enactment under which the BC Financial Services Authority has administrative responsibilities;
(k) use, or provide to any person, taxpayer information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(l) provide taxpayer information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the taxpayer information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(m) provide taxpayer information to, or allow inspection of or access to taxpayer information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 38.1, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (d) and (i) to (m) of this section, provide taxpayer information to, or allow inspection of or access to taxpayer information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada,
(c) an official of the government of another province, or
(d) a US state official.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any taxpayer information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that taxpayer information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the taxpayer information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the taxpayer to whom the taxpayer information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
38.1 (1) In this section:
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 38 (5);
"taxpayer information" has the same meaning as in section 38.
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government,
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government, or
(d) the government of a state of the United States of America or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), taxpayer information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any taxpayer information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(b) any taxpayer information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 38 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
Land Tax Deferment Act
113 Section 13.1 of the Land Tax Deferment Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 249, is repealed.
114 The following sections are added:
16.2 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means,
(a) in subsection (5) (k), an authorized person as defined in section 13.1 of the Assessment Act,
(b) in subsection (5) (l), a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, to assist in carrying out the provisions of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act, and
(c) in any other case, a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"designated person" has the same meaning as in section 241 (10) of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position,
and, for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), "official" includes a designated person;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) the Home Owner Grant Act.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Home Owner Grant Act or an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(f) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(g) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(h) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(i) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(j) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information;
(k) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Assessment Act;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes set out in section 4 (1) (a) of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 16.3, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (g) to (l) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding in relation to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
16.3 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 16.2;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 16.2 (5).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) the Home Owner Grant Act, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 16.2 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
17.1 (1) Without limiting section 5 of the Offence Act as it applies for the purposes of this Act, a person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 16.2 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 16.2 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 16.2 (5) (a) to (d), (g), (h) or (j) to (l), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on conviction to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
115 Section 18 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(i) prescribing an enactment for the purposes of section 16.2 (5) (j).
Logging Tax Act
116 Section 1 of the Logging Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 277, is amended in paragraph (b) of the definition of "amount owing" by striking out "section 21.1" and substituting "section 13.1 or 21.1".
117 Section 8 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "information or" in both places, and
(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:
(2) The person must deliver the return to the commissioner within the time specified in the demand under subsection (1).
118 The following section is added:
8.1 When required by the commissioner, a person must provide to the commissioner all records that the commissioner considers necessary to determine whether this Act and the regulations are being or have been complied with.
119 Section 10 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(5) A person must not
(a) interfere with, hinder or molest a person in doing anything that the person is authorized to do under this section, or
(b) prevent or attempt to prevent a person from doing anything that the person is authorized to do under this section.
120 Section 13 is repealed and the following substituted:
13 (1) For any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act or the regulations, the commissioner may, by giving a person a demand notice, require from the person
(a) any information or additional information,
(b) the production of any records, or
(c) a written statement.
(2) A demand notice under subsection (1)
(a) must be given by
(i) leaving the demand notice with the person, or
(ii) mailing the demand notice to the person by registered mail addressed to the person's address as stated in the person's last return made under this Act or as last known to the commissioner,
(b) must specify a reasonable time by which the person must comply with the demand notice, and
(c) in relation to a requirement under subsection (1) (c), may require the written statement to be made by way of affidavit or statutory declaration.
(3) A person to whom a demand notice is given under this section must comply with the notice within the time specified in the notice.
(4) The commissioner may issue a document certifying one or both of the following, and the document is proof of the facts certified in it:
(a) a demand notice was given to a person in accordance with subsection (2);
(b) a person has failed to comply with subsection (3) in respect of a demand notice given to the person under this section.
121 The following section is added:
13.1 (1) If the commissioner is satisfied that it is necessary to attend at a location outside British Columbia for the purpose of determining whether a person is complying with or has complied with this Act and the regulations, the commissioner may impose on the person a fee payable to the government in an amount not exceeding the amount calculated under subsection (2) in respect of attending at that location.
(2) Subject to the regulations, the commissioner may calculate the amount for the purposes of subsection (1) based on
(a) fees set by the commissioner, or
(b) a manner of calculating fees that is set by the commissioner.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the fees and manner set by the commissioner may be different for different circumstances defined by the commissioner or for attending at different locations.
(4) In imposing a fee under subsection (1), the commissioner may not impose a fee in respect of attending at a location more than 4 years before the date of the first notice of assessment for that fee.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purposes of subsection (2), respecting the calculation of an amount for the purposes of subsection (1), including, without limitation, respecting a maximum amount that may be calculated.
122 Sections 14 and 14.1 are repealed and the following substituted:
14 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code;
"taxpayer information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more taxpayers,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the taxpayer to whom the information relates;
"timber harvest information" means
(a) the name and address of a person who harvests timber in British Columbia,
(b) the number of the timber mark held by the person,
(c) the volume of timber harvested in British Columbia by the person, or
(d) any stumpage paid or payable to the government by the person.
(2) For certainty, timber harvest information is taxpayer information within the meaning of this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any taxpayer information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any taxpayer information, or
(c) knowingly use any taxpayer information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(4) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any taxpayer information.
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(6) Subject to subsection (8), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person taxpayer information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person taxpayer information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide taxpayer information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of Part 11.1 of the Forest Act;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide taxpayer information, or allow inspection of or access to taxpayer information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide taxpayer information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 or 242 of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(f) provide taxpayer information relating to a taxpayer
(i) to the taxpayer, and
(ii) with the consent of the taxpayer, to any other person;
(g) use taxpayer information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the taxpayer to whom the information relates;
(h) provide taxpayer information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(i) use, or provide to any person, taxpayer information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(j) provide taxpayer information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the taxpayer information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(k) provide taxpayer information to, or allow inspection of or access to taxpayer information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(7) Without limiting any provision of this or any other enactment, an official of the ministry of the minister and an official of the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Forest Act may
(a) collect timber harvest information that is relevant to the administration and enforcement of this Act, and
(b) in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 14.1 of this Act, provide to each other, or allow each other inspection of or access to, timber harvest information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act.
(8) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 14.1, an official must not, under subsection (6) (a) to (c) and (h) to (k) of this section, provide taxpayer information to, or allow inspection of or access to taxpayer information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(9) An official may provide to appropriate persons any taxpayer information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(10) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that taxpayer information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the taxpayer information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the taxpayer to whom the taxpayer information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(11) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
14.1 (1) In this section:
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 14 (6) and (7);
"taxpayer information" has the same meaning as in section 14.
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), taxpayer information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any taxpayer information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) Part 11.1 of the Forest Act, or
(b) any taxpayer information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 14 (8), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
123 The following section is added:
15.12 (1) If a taxpayer fails to pay a fee imposed under section 13.1, the taxpayer must pay to the government interest on the amount unpaid from the date of the first notice of assessment for that fee until the date of payment.
(2) Interest payable under subsection (1) must be calculated at the rate and in the manner prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
124 Section 20 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(2.01) If the commissioner imposes a fee under section 13.1 on a person, the commissioner must assess the person for the amount of the fee payable under that section.
125 Section 23 (5) is amended by striking out "section 20 (2.1)" and substituting "section 20 (2.01) or (2.1)".
126 Sections 35 and 36 are repealed.
127 The following section is added:
36.1 The commissioner may at any time waive or cancel all or part of any penalty otherwise payable by a person under this Act.
128 The following sections are added:
36.2 A person who fails to comply with any of the following provisions is liable to a penalty equal to $500:
(a) section 4;
(b) section 5;
(c) section 16.
36.3 A taxpayer who fails to deliver a return under section 6 (1) for a taxation year within the time required under this Act is liable to a penalty equal to the total of
(a) 5% of the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act for the taxation year on the date the return was required to be delivered, and
(b) the amount determined by the following formula:
amount = 1% x A x B
| where | ||||
| A | = | the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act for the taxation year on the date the return was required to be delivered; | ||
| B | = | the number of months, not exceeding 12 and rounded down to the nearest whole number, in the period beginning on the date the return was required to be delivered and ending on the earlier of | ||
| (i) | the date the return was delivered, and | |||
| (ii) | the date a penalty is imposed under this section on the taxpayer. | |||
36.4 If all of the following apply:
(a) a taxpayer fails to deliver a return under section 6 (1) for a taxation year within the time required under the Act;
(b) the taxpayer subsequently fails to deliver a return under section 8 (1) for the taxation year within the time required by section 8 (2);
(c) a penalty was imposed on the taxpayer under section 36.3 in respect of a failure to deliver a return referred to in that section for any of the 3 preceding taxation years,
the taxpayer is liable to a penalty equal to the total of
(d) 10% of the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act for the taxation year on the date the return referred to in paragraph (a) was required to be delivered, and
(e) the amount determined by the following formula:
amount = 2% x A x B
| where | ||||
| A | = | the amount remaining unpaid of the taxpayer's tax payable under this Act for the taxation year on the date the return referred to in paragraph (a) was required to be delivered; | ||
| B | = | the number of months, not exceeding 20 and rounded down to the nearest whole number, in the period beginning on the date the return referred to in paragraph (a) was required to be delivered and ending on the earlier of | ||
| (i) | the date the return was delivered, and | |||
| (ii) | the date a penalty is imposed under this section on the taxpayer. | |||
36.5 If a person who is required to deliver a return fails to include in the return any required information or fails to deliver with the return any other required information or records, the person is liable to a penalty of $100 for each failure.
36.6 (1) A person who fails to comply with a provision specified in subsection (2) is liable, in respect of each failure, to a penalty equal to the greater of
(a) $100, and
(b) $25 for each day during which the failure continues, to a maximum of $2 500.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the following provisions are specified:
(a) section 8.1;
(b) section 13 (3).
36.7 A person who contravenes section 10 (5) (a) or (b) is liable to a penalty of $100 for each contravention.
36.8 (1) In this section, "additional tax" means the amount by which the tax payable under this Act for a taxation year, calculated on the basis of accurate and complete information, exceeds the tax payable for the taxation year, calculated on the basis of the false statement or omission described in subsection (2).
(2) If a person knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence, makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false statement or an omission in a return, notice or other record delivered or supplied or in information supplied under this Act for a taxation year, the taxpayer is liable to a penalty equal to the greater of
(a) $100, and
(b) 50% of the additional tax.
36.9 (1) Section 163.2 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) applies for the purposes of this Act with the changes the circumstances require for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), in applying section 163.2 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) for the purposes of this Act, the following rules apply:
(a) a reference in that section to the Income Tax Act (Canada) is to be read as a reference to this Act;
(b) a reference in that section to an assessment is to be read as a reference to an assessment under this Act;
(c) that section is to be read without reference to the definition of "excluded activity" in subsection (1) of that section and without reference to subsections (7) and (8) (b) (i) and (ii) of that section;
(d) subsection (5) of that section is to be read as if
(i) the reference to "subsection 163 (2)" were a reference to section 36.8 (2) of this Act, and
(ii) the reference to "return filed for the purposes of this Act" were a reference to "return, notice or other record delivered or supplied or in information supplied under this Act";
(e) subsection (10) of that section must be read as if the reference to section 163 (3) were a reference to subsection (3) of this section;
(f) subsection (15) of that section must be read as if the reference to "or an employee engaged in an excluded activity" were excluded.
(3) In an appeal to the Supreme Court under section 24 of this Act, the onus is on the minister to establish the facts justifying the assessment of a penalty to which a person is liable under this section.
129 Section 37 is repealed.
130 The following sections are added:
37.1 A person who does any of the following commits an offence:
(a) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive statement in a return, notice or other record required to be delivered or supplied under this Act;
(b) destroys, alters, mutilates, hides or otherwise disposes of a record to evade payment of an amount to be paid to the government under this Act;
(c) makes, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making of, a false or deceptive entry in a record related to an amount to be paid to the government under this Act;
(d) omits, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the omission of, a material particular in a record required to be kept under this Act;
(e) makes or uses, or participates in, assents to or acquiesces in the making or use of, a record in a false or deceptive manner in order to obtain a tax benefit;
(f) wilfully, in any manner, evades or attempts to evade payment of tax payable under this Act;
(g) conspires with any person to do anything described in paragraphs (a) to (f).
37.2 (1) An individual who commits an offence under section 37.1 is liable to
(a) a fine of not less than 50% and not more than 200% of the amount of tax that was sought to be evaded,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or
(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
(2) A corporation that commits an offence under section 37.1 is liable to a fine of not less than 50% and not more than 200% of the amount of tax that was sought to be evaded.
37.3 (1) A person commits an offence if the person contravenes any of the following provisions:
(a) section 8.1;
(b) section 10 (5) (a) or (b);
(c) section 13 (3).
(2) An individual who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable to
(a) a fine of not more than $100 000,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or
(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
(3) A corporation that commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable to a fine of not more than $100 000.
37.4 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 14 (3), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 14 (10).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with taxpayer information for a particular purpose under section 14 (6) (a) to (e), (h), (i) or (k) or (7), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or
(c) both the fine and imprisonment referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.
37.5 (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, an employee, officer, director or agent of the corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the offence also commits that offence, whether or not the corporation is prosecuted for the offence.
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee, officer, director or agent of the defendant, whether or not the employee, officer, director or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the defendant establishes that the defendant exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.
38.1 Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act or the regulations.
131 Section 39 is amended by adding the following subsection:
(3.1) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to a demand notice under section 13.
Mineral Land Tax Act
132 Section 6 (3) of the Mineral Land Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 290, is repealed.
133 The following sections are added:
19.1 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"minister" means the minister responsible for the administration of the Financial Administration Act;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any exemption, refund or credit to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official of the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Mines Act, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of policy under this Act;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or of an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(ix) to an official solely for the purposes of the Escheat Act;
(x) to an official solely for the purposes of the reversion, escheat or surrender to the government, or acquisition by the government, of a Crown granted 2 post claim referred to in section 26 of the Mineral Tenure Act or in section 3.1 of the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 529/2004;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(f) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(g) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(h) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(i) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(j) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 19.2, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (g) to (j) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister or the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Mines Act,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
19.2 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 19.1;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 19.1 (5);
"minister" has the same meaning as in section 19.1.
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 19.1 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
19.3 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 19.1 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 19.1 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 19.1 (5) (a) to (d), (g), (h) or (j), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable, on conviction, to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
Mineral Tax Act
134 Section 30 of the Mineral Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 291, is repealed and the following substituted:
30 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"minister" means the minister responsible for the administration of the Financial Administration Act;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any exemption, refund or tax credit to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official of the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Mines Act, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of policy under this Act;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or of an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax, royalty or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(f) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(g) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(h) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(i) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be regarded as necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be regarded as related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(j) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 30.1, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (g) to (j) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister or the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Mines Act,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) An official may disclose confidential information relating to an operator if the disclosure is for the purposes of administering or implementing a resource revenue-sharing agreement between the government and a First Nation.
(10) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
30.1 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 30;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 30 (5);
"minister" has the same meaning as in section 30.
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 30 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is to be regarded as an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
135 Section 39 (4) is amended by striking out "section 12 (1), (1.1), (1.2) or (5), 13 or 30 (1)" and substituting "section 12 (1), (1.1), (1.2) or (5) or 13".
136 The following section is added:
40.1 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 30 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 30 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has, for a particular purpose, been provided with confidential information under section 30 (5) (a) to (d), (g), (h) or (j), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
137 Section 44 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(k) prescribing enactments for the purposes of section 30 (5) (j).
Motor Fuel Tax Act
138 Section 57.1 (9) of the Motor Fuel Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 317, is amended by striking out "Despite section 62 (1), the" and substituting "The".
139 Section 62 is repealed and the following substituted:
62 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, other than excluded information, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"excluded information" means any of the following information:
(a) the name and address of a collector;
(b) whether a person's appointment as a collector has been suspended or cancelled;
(c) the name and address of a person authorized to sell coloured fuel;
(d) whether a person's authorization to sell coloured fuel has been suspended or cancelled;
(e) in relation to a person who holds or held an exempt fuel retailer permit within the meaning of Part 3.2 of the Motor Fuel Tax Regulation, B.C. Reg. 414/85,
(i) the name and address of the person,
(ii) the specified fuel,
(iii) the percentage set by the director under section 51.71 of the Motor Fuel Tax Regulation in relation to the person, and
(iv) whether the person's exempt fuel retailer permit has been suspended or cancelled;
(f) in relation to a person who is or was a registered consumer,
(i) the name and address of the person,
(ii) the type or subcategory of a type of fuel specified in the person's registered consumer certificate, and
(iii) whether the person's registered consumer certificate has been suspended or cancelled;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code;
"US state official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of a state of the United States of America, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position.
(2) For the purposes of the definition of "excluded information", a person's name includes any name under which the person carries on business.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section or section 57.1 (9), an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(4) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) Part 10 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the regulations made under that Part.
(6) Subject to subsection (7), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, security, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any exemption, deduction or refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of Part 10 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the regulations made under that Part;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information to a US state official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of a state of the United States of America that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(e) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of an agreement entered into under section 17 of this Act;
(f) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(g) provide confidential information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 or 242 of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(h) provide confidential information relating to a person, other than information that may be requested from the director under section 57.1 (9),
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(i) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(j) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(k) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(l) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(m) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(7) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 62.1, an official must not, under subsection (6) (a) to (d) and (j) to (m) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada,
(c) an official of the government of another province, or
(d) a US state official.
(8) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(9) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(10) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
62.1 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 62;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 62 (6).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government,
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government, or
(d) the government of a state of the United States of America or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) Part 10 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the regulations made under that Part, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 62 (7), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
140 Section 64 (3) is repealed.
141 The following section is added:
64.1 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 62 (3), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 62 (9).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 62 (6) (a) to (c), (f), (g), (j), (k) or (m), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
Nisga'a Final Agreement Act
142 The Nisga'a Final Agreement Act, S.B.C. 1999, c. 2, is amended by adding the following section:
10.031 (1) The Nisga'a Lisims Government may, by law, provide exemptions for Nisga'a citizens from real property taxes imposed or collected by the government or by the Nisga'a Lisims Government in relation to the ownership or occupation of real property.
(2) A law enacted under subsection (1) does not apply in respect of real property taxes imposed for a taxation year unless the law comes into force on or before October 31 in the preceding calendar year.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Act
143 Section 122.1 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 361, is repealed and the following substituted:
122.1 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained, by or on behalf of the minister, for the purposes of Part 10 or 11 of this Act or the regulations referred to in section 133 (2) (i) of this Act, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"minister" means the minister responsible for the administration of the Financial Administration Act;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax, royalty or duty, or
(ii) the Oil and Gas Activities Act.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, royalty, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any exemption, refund or credit to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official of the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Mines Act, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of policy under this Act;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or of an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax, royalty or duty;
(vii) to an official solely as provided for in the regulations;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Oil and Gas Activities Act;
(ix) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(x) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(f) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(g) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(h) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(i) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(j) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 122.2, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (g) to (j) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister or the ministry of the minister responsible for the administration of the Ministry of Energy and Mines Act,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) An official may disclose confidential information relating to an operator if the disclosure is for the purposes of administering or implementing a resource revenue-sharing agreement between the government and a First Nation.
(10) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
122.2 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 122.1;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 122.1 (5);
"minister" has the same meaning as in section 122.1.
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(ii) the Oil and Gas Activities Act, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 122.1 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
144 Sections 122.1 (4) (b) (ii) and (5) (c) (viii) and 122.2 (4) (a) (ii) are amended by striking out "Oil and Gas Activities Act" and substituting "Energy Resource Activities Act".
145 Section 133 (2) is amended
(a) in paragraph (j.1) by striking out "section 122.1 (c)" and substituting "section 122.1 (5) (c) (vii)", and
(b) by adding the following paragraph:
(j.2) prescribing enactments for the purposes of section 122.1 (5) (j); .
146 Section 134 (1) is amended by adding ", other than section 122.1," after "a provision of this Act".
147 The following section is added:
134.1 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 122.1 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 122.1 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 122.1 (5) (a) to (d), (g), (h) or (j), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on conviction to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
Property Transfer Tax Act
148 Section 1 (1) of the Property Transfer Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 378, is amended by repealing the definitions of "ministry person" and "personal information".
149 The following sections are added:
10.1 (1) In this section and in sections 10.2 to 10.6:
"apartment" means a self-contained residential accommodation unit that has cooking, sleeping, bathroom and living room facilities;
"eligible transaction", for the purposes of determining the eligibility of a transferee for an exemption or refund under sections 10.2 to 10.6, means a taxable transaction not referred to in paragraph (b), (c), (f) or (g) of the definition of "taxable transaction" in section 1 (1);
"qualifying property" means a parcel of land
(a) that is the subject matter of an eligible transaction in respect of which the residential property value exceeds $3 000 000, and
(b) that, on the registration date, contains a residential improvement;
"registration date", in respect of an eligible transaction, means the date on which the application for registration of the eligible transaction is made at a land title office;
"residential improvement" means an improvement in respect of which the following requirements are met:
(a) the improvement is permanently affixed to land;
(b) the improvement is designed or constructed for the purpose of providing rental accommodation;
(c) the improvement is residential property because it is described as class 1 property in section 1 of the Prescribed Classes of Property Regulation, B.C. Reg. 438/81;
(d) the improvement does not consist of strata lots;
(e) the improvement contains at least 4 apartments;
"residential property" has the same meaning as in section 3.01 (1);
"residential property value" has the same meaning as in section 3.01 (1).
(2) For the purposes of the definition of "qualifying property", if the same residential improvement is located on more than one parcel, the parcels are deemed to be one parcel.
10.2 (1) Subject to subsection (2) and sections 10.3 to 10.6, a transferee who applies for registration, at a land title office, of an eligible transaction in respect of a qualifying property is exempt from the obligation to pay tax on the transaction in accordance with section 3 (1) (d) if
(a) the residential improvement on the qualifying property
(i) was constructed or placed on the property, and
(ii) on the registration date, has not been used as a dwelling since the construction of the residential improvement began or since the residential improvement was placed on the property, as the case may be,
(b) the application is the first application for registration in respect of the qualifying property since the residential improvement was completed or since the residential improvement was placed on the property, as the case may be, and
(c) the transferee applies for an exemption under this section by tendering with the application for registration an application for exemption.
(2) The exemption under subsection (1) is the amount of the tax payable in accordance with section 3 (1) (d)
(a) in respect of that portion of residential property value that is applicable to the residential improvement used as required by section 10.4 (1), and
(b) in respect of that portion of the residential property value, not including improvements, that is applicable to the land that is part of the qualifying property and used in conjunction with the residential improvement.
(3) An application for exemption under subsection (1) must be in the form required by the minister and must
(a) include a declaration, in the form required by the minister, by which the transferee declares that the residential improvement contains at least 4 apartments,
(b) disclose that the property to which the eligible transaction relates is a qualifying property, and
(c) include a consent, in the form required by the minister, by which the transferee consents to the administrator conducting inquiries the administrator considers necessary to confirm that the requirements in section 10.4 (1) are met.
10.3 (1) A transferee who is entitled to an exemption under section 10.2 in respect of an eligible transaction and who fails to apply for that exemption on the registration date may, within 18 months after that date, apply to the administrator for a refund of the tax paid in accordance with section 3 (1) (d) on the registration of the transaction by the transferee.
(2) On receiving an application under subsection (1), the administrator,
(a) if satisfied that the transferee would have qualified for an exemption under section 10.2 on the registration date, must pay out of the consolidated revenue fund a refund of the portion of the amount of tax paid by the transferee that is equivalent to the amount of the exemption to which the transferee would have been entitled had the application for the exemption been made on the registration date, or
(b) if not satisfied that the transferee would have qualified for an exemption under section 10.2 on the registration date, must refuse the application and provide the transferee with written notice under subsection (3) of the refusal.
(3) If an application for a refund under subsection (1) is refused, the administrator must send a letter to the applicant stating the reason for the refusal, and the letter is deemed to be a notice of assessment for the purposes of allowing the applicant to give a notice of objection under section 19.
10.4 (1) A transferee who has applied for an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 must,
(a) beginning on a date that is not more than 92 days after the registration date, and
(b) continuing to a date that is not earlier than the tenth anniversary of the registration date,
rent or offer for rent, on a monthly or longer-term basis only, all of the apartments contained in the residential improvement on the qualifying property.
(2) A transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 must submit to the administrator written notice of
(a) a failure to rent or offer for rent the apartments referred to in subsection (1) of this section as required by paragraph (a) of that provision, and
(b) the occurrence of an event described in section 10.5 (3) or (5) (a) to (e) that results in the transferee's liability to tax under section 10.5.
(3) A notice under subsection (2) must be submitted to the administrator, in the form required by the minister, not more than 92 days after the date the event occurs.
(4) A transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 and who is not required to submit a notice under subsection (2) of this section must submit to the administrator a declaration, by which the transferee declares that
(a) the residential improvement on the qualifying property contained at least 4 apartments at all times between the registration date and the tenth anniversary of the registration date, and
(b) subject to an applicable exception set out in section 10.6, every apartment contained in the residential improvement on the qualifying property was rented or offered for rent only on a monthly or longer-term basis between the date referred to in subsection (1) (a) of this section and the tenth anniversary of the registration date.
(5) A declaration under subsection (4) must be submitted to the administrator, in the form required by the minister, not more than 92 days after the tenth anniversary of the registration date.
10.5 (1) Subject to section 10.6, a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 is liable under subsection (2) of this section if and from the time that the transferee
(a) fails or refuses to comply with section 10.2 (1) (c) or (3), or
(b) fails or refuses to rent or offer for rent the apartments referred to in section 10.4 (1) as required by paragraph (a) of that provision.
(2) A transferee referred to in subsection (1) must pay to the administrator tax in an amount that is equivalent to the amount of the exemption or refund obtained.
(3) Subject to subsection (8) and section 10.6, a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 is liable under subsection (4) of this section if, at any time before the tenth anniversary of the registration date of the eligible transaction in respect of which the exemption or refund was obtained, an interest in the qualifying property of any transferee who obtained the exemption or refund is subsequently transferred under a taxable transaction.
(4) A transferee referred to in subsection (3) is liable from the time the application to register the subsequent transfer is made and must pay to the administrator tax in the amount calculated as follows:
| VI VQP |
x | |
E x | (10 − Y)
10 |
|
| where | ||
| VI | is the fair market value of the interest, in the qualifying property, transferred under the subsequent transfer, determined at the time of the subsequent transfer; | |
| VQP | is the fair market value of the qualifying property that was the subject matter of the eligible transaction, determined at the time of the subsequent transfer; | |
| E | is the amount of tax equivalent to the amount of the exemption or refund obtained; | |
| Y | is the number of years between the registration date of the eligible transaction and the date of the application to register the subsequent transfer. | |
(5) Subject to section 10.6, a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 is liable under subsection (7) of this section if, at any time before the tenth anniversary of the registration date, any of the following occur:
(a) an apartment contained in the residential improvement ceases to be rented or offered for rent only on a monthly or longer-term basis;
(b) an improvement that was, on the registration date, the residential improvement ceases to be classified, in whole or in part, under section 19 of the Assessment Act as property used for residential purposes;
(c) an improvement that was, on the registration date, the residential improvement ceases to contain at least 4 apartments;
(d) an improvement that was, on the registration date, the residential improvement is divided into strata lots;
(e) if the eligible transaction in respect of which the exemption or refund was obtained was a transaction referred to in paragraph (a) (iii) or (e) of the definition of "taxable transaction" in section 1 (1) of this Act, the applicable lease agreement is discharged.
(6) A transferee referred to in subsection (5) is liable from the time an event described in paragraphs (a) to (e) of that subsection occurs.
(7) Subject to subsection (9), a transferee referred to in subsection (5) must pay to the administrator tax in the amount calculated as follows:
| E x | (10 − Y)
10 |
| where | ||
| E | is the amount of tax equivalent to the amount of the exemption or refund obtained; | |
| Y | is the number of years between the registration date of the eligible transaction in respect of which the exemption or refund was obtained and the date on which the applicable event described in subsection (5) (a) to (e) occurs. | |
(8) A transferee is not liable under subsection (4) if, at the time of the subsequent transfer, the transferee is liable under subsection (7) in respect of the same exemption or refund.
(9) Any tax payable by a transferee under subsection (7) in respect of an exemption or refund is reduced by an amount of tax payable under subsection (4) by the transferee in respect of the same exemption or refund.
(10) A transferee not referred to in subsection (1), (3) or (5) who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 for an amount greater than the amount to which the transferee is entitled under this Act must pay to the administrator as a tax liability the amount by which the exemption or refund received exceeded the exemption or refund to which the transferee was entitled.
10.6 (1) Section 10.5 (1) to (9) does not apply to a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 if the transferee does not rent or offer for rent the apartments referred to in section 10.4 (1) as required by paragraph (a) of that provision, or if an event described in section 10.5 (5) (a) or (c) occurs, only because of one of the following reasons:
(a) an apartment contained in the residential improvement on the qualifying property is unavailable for rent because of circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the transferee or because it is undergoing reasonably required renovations or repairs;
(b) subject to subsection (2) of this section, an apartment contained in the residential improvement on the qualifying property is unavailable for rent because it is occupied by an owner of the residential improvement or by a person employed or engaged to manage the residential improvement;
(c) a prescribed reason.
(2) The exception under subsection (1) (b) applies only if
(a) no more than 2 apartments contained in the residential improvement are unavailable for rent for the reason set out in that subsection, and
(b) at least 4 other apartments contained in the residential improvement are rented or offered for rent only on a monthly or longer-term basis.
(3) Section 10.5 (1) to (9) does not apply to a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 if an event described in section 10.5 (3) occurs only because of one of the following reasons:
(a) an interest in the qualifying property of any transferee is transferred under a taxable transaction to a person who is a transferee under the eligible transaction in respect of which the exemption or refund was obtained;
(b) subject to subsection (4), an interest in the qualifying property of any transferee is transferred under a taxable transaction in respect of which the transferee of the interest is exempt under section 14 (3) (h) or (q);
(c) an interest in the qualifying property of any transferee is transferred under a taxable transaction in respect of which the transferee of the interest is exempt under section 14 (4) (u) or (w);
(d) a prescribed reason.
(4) The exception under subsection (3) (b) applies only if, immediately after the registration of the taxable transaction, a person who is a transferee under the eligible transaction in respect of which the exemption or refund was obtained holds a registered interest in the qualifying property.
150 Section 12 is amended
(a) by renumbering the section as section 12 (1), and
(b) by adding the following subsections:
(2) If the administrator determines that a transferee who applies for an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3
(a) is not entitled under section 10.2 to receive an exemption from the obligation to pay tax in accordance with section 3 (1) (d) or to obtain a refund under section 10.3, and
(b) provided a declaration under section 10.2 (3) or an application under section 10.3 that is false or misleading,
the transferee must pay to the administrator, in addition to the amount of tax that the transferee is obliged to pay the administrator in accordance with section 3 (1) (d), a penalty in an amount equal to that amount of tax.
(3) If the administrator determines that a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3
(a) is, because of the occurrence of an event described in section 10.5 (3) or (5) (a) to (e), liable to tax under section 10.5, and
(b) provided a notice under section 10.4 (2) that is false or misleading with respect to the date the event occurred,
the transferee must pay to the administrator, in addition to the amount of tax that the transferee is obliged to pay the administrator under section 10.5, a penalty in an amount equal to that amount of tax.
(4) If the administrator determines that a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3
(a) is, because of the occurrence of an event described in section 10.5 (5) (a) to (e), liable to tax under section 10.5, and
(b) failed to provide a notice under section 10.4 (2),
the transferee must pay to the administrator, in addition to the amount of tax that the transferee is obliged to pay the administrator under section 10.5, a penalty in an amount equal to that amount of tax.
(5) If the administrator determines that a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3
(a) is, because of the occurrence of an event described in section 10.5 (5) (a) to (e), liable to tax under section 10.5, and
(b) provided a notice under section 10.4 (2) after the expiry of the period set out in section 10.4 (3),
the transferee must pay to the administrator, in addition to the amount of tax that the transferee is obliged to pay the administrator under section 10.5, a penalty in an amount equal to 0.2% of that amount of tax for each week between the time the notice was required by section 10.4 (3) to be provided and the time the notice is received by the administrator.
(6) If the administrator determines that a transferee who has obtained an exemption under section 10.2 or a refund under section 10.3 provided a declaration under section 10.4 (4) that is false or misleading with respect to a matter referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of that provision, the transferee must pay to the administrator, in addition to the amount of tax that the transferee is obliged to pay the administrator under section 10.5, a penalty in an amount equal to that amount of tax.
(7) The administrator may refuse to accept from a transferee a notice under section 10.4 (2) if the notice is provided after
(a) the period of time set out in section 10.4 (3) has expired, and
(b) the administrator has issued a notice of assessment imposing on the transferee a penalty under subsection (4) of this section.
(8) The administrator may at any time waive or cancel all or part of the penalty payable by a person under subsections (2) to (6).
151 Section 18 is amended
(a) by adding the following subsection:
(6.01) If an exemption has been applied for under section 10.2 or a refund has been applied for under section 10.3,
(a) the administrator may, at any time, issue the notice of assessment if the transferee has, in respect of the exemption or refund,
(i) failed to submit a notice under section 10.4 (2),
(ii) failed to submit a declaration under section 10.4 (4),
(iii) provided a notice under section 10.4 (2) that is false or misleading with respect to the date an event described in section 10.5 (3) or (5) (a) to (e) occurred, or
(iv) provided a declaration under section 10.4 (4) that is false or misleading with respect to a matter referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of that provision, and
(b) the administrator must issue the notice of assessment within 6 years after the following, as applicable:
(i) the date a notice under section 10.4 (2) is received in respect of the exemption or refund;
(ii) the date a declaration under section 10.4 (4) is received in respect of the exemption or refund. , and
(b) in subsection (6.4) by striking out "subsection (5), (6), (6.1)" and substituting "subsection (5), (6), (6.01), (6.1)".
152 Section 19 (2) is amended
(a) in paragraph (a) by striking out "section 5, 6, 12.02 or 12.03" and substituting "section 5, 6, 10.2, 12.02 or 12.03", and
(b) in paragraph (b) by striking out "section 7, 12.04 or 12.06" and substituting "section 7, 10.3, 12.04 or 12.06".
153 Sections 32, 32.1 and 32.2 are repealed and the following substituted:
32 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means,
(a) in subsection (5) (k), an authorized person as defined in section 13.1 of the Assessment Act,
(b) in subsection (5) (l), a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, to assist in carrying out the provisions of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act, and
(c) in any other case, a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"designated person" has the same meaning as in section 241 (10) of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position,
and, for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), "official" includes a designated person;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty,
(ii) the Home Owner Grant Act, or
(iii) the Land Tax Deferment Act.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Home Owner Grant Act, the Land Tax Deferment Act or the Real Estate Development Marketing Act;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(f) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(g) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(h) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(i) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(j) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information;
(k) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Assessment Act;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes set out in section 4 (1) (a) of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 32.1, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (g) to (l) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding in relation to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
32.1 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 32;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 32 (5).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty,
(ii) the Home Owner Grant Act, or
(iii) the Land Tax Deferment Act, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 32 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
154 The following section is added:
34.01 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 32 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 32 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 32 (5) (a) to (d), (g), (h) or (j) to (l), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000,
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months, or
(c) both fine and imprisonment.
155 Section 37 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(z) for the purposes of section 10.6 (1) (c) and (3) (d), respecting the reasons for which an exemption under section 10.2 or refund under section 10.3 may be retained and prescribing any conditions of retention.
Provincial Sales Tax Act
156 Section 1 of the Provincial Sales Tax Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 35, is amended
(a) in the definition of "online marketplace facilitator" by repealing paragraph (a) (ii) (B) and substituting the following:
(B) retail sale or provision of software or services other than legal services, and ,
(b) in the definition of "online marketplace seller" by repealing paragraph (b) and substituting the following:
(b) sells or provides software or services other than legal services; ,
(c) by repealing the definition of "online marketplace service" and substituting the following:
"online marketplace service" means an online marketplace service described under section 6.1 [online marketplace services]; ,
(d) in the definition of "use" by repealing paragraph (g) (ii) and substituting the following:
(ii) selling or providing software or services, other than legal services, through an online marketplace; , and
(e) by repealing the definition of "vapour product" and substituting the following:
"vapour product" means any of the following:
(a) an e-vaping device;
(b) an e-substance;
(c) a cartridge, part or accessory for an e-vaping device,
but does not include a heated tobacco product, as defined in the Tobacco Tax Act; .
157 The following section is added:
6.1 (1) For the purposes of this Act, an online marketplace service is any service described in subsection (2) that is
(a) provided by an online marketplace facilitator, or by an agent, partner, joint venturer or associated corporation of the online marketplace facilitator, to an online marketplace seller, and
(b) related to
(i) an online marketplace seller's sale, provision or lease of tangible personal property, software or services, other than legal services, or
(ii) an online marketplace seller's offer to sell, provide or lease tangible personal property, software or services, other than legal services,
through an online marketplace operated, owned or controlled or jointly operated, owned or controlled by the online marketplace facilitator.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the following services are online marketplace services:
(a) the listing of tangible personal property, software or services, other than legal services, for sale, lease or provision, as applicable;
(b) advertising or promotion;
(c) customer service;
(d) storage;
(e) the fulfillment of orders or bookings;
(f) the collection or facilitation of payment, either directly or indirectly, or transmission of the payment to the online marketplace seller;
(g) accepting or assisting with cancellations, changes, returns or exchanges of tangible personal property, software or services, other than legal services;
(h) other services to facilitate an online marketplace seller's sale, provision or lease of tangible personal property, or sale or provision of software or services, other than legal services.
158 Section 10 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by adding "and subject to this section" after "For the purposes of this Act",
(b) in subsection (2) (f) by striking out "subject to subsection (3),", and
(c) by adding the following subsection:
(4) The purchase price of tangible personal property does not include taxes imposed under the Select Luxury Items Tax Act (Canada).
159 Section 10 is amended
(a) in subsection (2) (f) by adding "subject to subsection (3)," before "if the tangible personal property", and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(3) The purchase price of tangible personal property determined in accordance with subsection (2) (f) does not include taxes imposed under Part IX of the Excise Tax Act.
160 Section 13 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by adding "and subject to this section" after "For the purposes of this Act",
(b) in subsection (2) (e) by striking out "subject to subsection (4),", and
(c) by adding the following subsection:
(5) The lease price of tangible personal property does not include taxes imposed under the Select Luxury Items Tax Act (Canada).
161 Section 13 is amended
(a) in subsection (2) (e) by adding "subject to subsection (4)," before "if the tangible personal property", and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(4) The lease price of tangible personal property determined in accordance with subsection (2) (e) does not include taxes imposed under Part IX of the Excise Tax Act.
162 Section 134.3 is amended
(a) by repealing subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following:
(1) A purchaser of an online marketplace service provided or to be provided
(a) to tangible personal property or in respect of storage of tangible personal property, if the tangible personal property is in British Columbia at the time the service is provided or to be provided,
(b) in respect of accommodation in British Columbia, or
(c) to a person in British Columbia, other than a person described in subsection (2), which service is not an online marketplace service provided or to be provided
(i) to tangible personal property,
(ii) in respect of storage of tangible personal property, or
(iii) in respect of accommodation
must pay to the government tax at the rate of 7% of the purchase price of the online marketplace service.
(2) Subsection (1) (c) does not apply to a purchaser of an online marketplace service where the online marketplace service is provided or to be provided to a person who wholly uses the online marketplace service outside British Columbia. , and
(b) in subsections (3) and (4) by striking out "subsection (1) or (2)" wherever it appears and substituting "subsection (1)".
163 Sections 172.4 (1) and 174 (4.5) are amended by striking out "under section 134.3 (1) or (2)" and substituting "under section 134.3 (1)".
164 Section 173 (3) (g) is amended by striking out "or (i)".
165 Section 179.3 is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "an online marketplace seller's sale, provision or lease through an online marketplace" and substituting "through an online marketplace an online marketplace seller's sale, provision or lease, other than a retail sale, provision or lease of tangible personal property described in subsection (3)", and
(b) by adding the following subsection:
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to an online marketplace seller's retail sale, provision or lease of tangible personal property if
(a) the tangible personal property, at the time it is sold, provided or leased, is located outside Canada, and
(b) the sale, provision or lease is to a person in British Columbia for use or consumption in British Columbia,
except in prescribed circumstances.
166 Section 221 (10) is amended by striking out "Despite section 228 [confidentiality], the" and substituting "The".
167 Section 228 is repealed and the following substituted:
228 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, other than excluded information, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"excluded information" means any of the following information:
(a) a registrant's name, including the name under which the registrant carries on business;
(b) a registrant's address;
(c) whether a registrant's registration has been suspended or cancelled;
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section or section 221 (10) [disclosure of amount of lien], an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any tax, interest, penalty or other amount that is or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any exemption, deduction, refund or credit to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry of the minister, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) [powers of commissioner in conducting investigations, audits or inquiries] and 61 (1) [powers, duties and protections of adjudicator] of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15 [staff in government or government organizations], 16 [access to information, documents or things] and 17 [summons and requests] of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 [requesting searchable information] or 242 [orders respecting searchable information] of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 [requesting searchable information] or 9 [orders respecting correspondence and searchable information] of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(f) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of a prorating agreement, as defined in section 68 [definitions];
(g) provide confidential information relating to a person, other than information that may be requested from the director under section 221 (10),
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(h) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(i) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17 [write off of assets and uncollectable debts], 18 [extinguishment of debts] and 19 [remissions] of the Financial Administration Act;
(j) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(k) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 228.1, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (i) to (l) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry of the minister,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding in relation to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 [use of personal information] or 33 [disclosure of personal information] of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
228.1 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 228;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 228 (5).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 228 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
168 Section 230 (1) is repealed.
169 The following section is added:
230.1 (1) A person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 228 (2) [information sharing], or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 228 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 228 (5) (a) to (e), (i), (j) or (l), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
170 Section 240.1 is repealed and the following substituted:
240.1 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) specifying that certain persons are not online marketplace facilitators;
(b) specifying that certain persons are not online marketplace sellers;
(c) specifying that certain persons are not online marketplace facilitators in relation to prescribed sales, leases or provisions.
Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act
171 Section 3 of the Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act, S.B.C. 2018, c. 46, is amended
(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "Subject to the exclusions, if any, in the regulations," and substituting "Subject to this section and the exclusions, if any, in the regulations,", and
(b) by adding the following subsections:
(3) A determination under this section about whether an individual is a corporate interest holder in respect of a corporation is to be made without regard to any appointment of a receiver of the corporation.
(4) For greater certainty, an individual is not a corporate interest holder in respect of a corporation in the individual's capacity as
(a) a receiver of the corporation, or
(b) an agent of a corporation that is a receiver of the corporation.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a receiver includes a receiver manager.
172 Section 120 is amended
(a) in subsection (5) by striking out "subsections (6) and (9)" and substituting "subsection (6)", and
(b) by repealing subsection (9).
Taxation (Rural Area) Act
173 Section 1 of the Taxation (Rural Area) Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 448, is amended by repealing the definitions of "ministry person" and "personal information".
174 Sections 3, 3.1 and 3.2 are repealed and the following substituted:
3 (1) In this section:
"authorized person" means,
(a) in subsection (5) (l), an authorized person as defined in section 13.1 of the Assessment Act,
(b) in subsection (5) (m), a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, to assist in carrying out the provisions of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act, and
(c) in any other case, a person who is engaged or employed, or was formerly engaged or employed, by or on behalf of the government, to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act;
"confidential information" means information of any kind and in any form, other than information set out in a taxation roll, relating to one or more persons,
(a) that is obtained for the purposes of this Act by or on behalf of the minister, or
(b) that is prepared from information referred to in paragraph (a),
but does not include information that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
"designated person" has the same meaning as in section 241 (10) of the Income Tax Act (Canada);
"official" means any person
(a) who is employed in the service of, is engaged by or on behalf of, or occupies a position of responsibility in the service of the government of British Columbia, another province or Canada, or
(b) who was formerly so employed or engaged or formerly occupied such a position,
and, for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), "official" includes a designated person;
"police officer" means a police officer as defined in section 462.48 (17) of the Criminal Code.
(2) Despite any other enactment or law, except as authorized by this section, an official must not
(a) knowingly provide, or knowingly allow to be provided, any confidential information to any person,
(b) knowingly allow any person to have access to any confidential information, or
(c) knowingly use any confidential information otherwise than in the course of the administration and enforcement of this Act or for a purpose for which it was provided under this section.
(3) Despite any other enactment or law, an official must not be required, in connection with any legal proceedings, to give or produce evidence relating to any confidential information.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to the following:
(a) criminal proceedings that have been commenced by the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment under an Act of the Parliament of Canada;
(b) any legal proceedings relating to the administration or enforcement of
(i) any enactment of British Columbia, another province or Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty,
(ii) the Home Owner Grant Act, or
(iii) the Land Tax Deferment Act.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), an official may do one or more of the following:
(a) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act, solely for those purposes;
(b) provide to any person confidential information that can reasonably be considered necessary for the purposes of determining
(i) any taxes or other amounts that are or may become payable by the person under this Act,
(ii) any refund to which the person is or may become entitled under this Act, or
(iii) any other amount that is relevant for the purposes of a determination under subparagraph (i) or (ii);
(c) provide confidential information as follows:
(i) to an official of the Department of Finance of the government of Canada, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(ii) to an official solely for the purposes of the initial implementation of a fiscal policy;
(iii) to an official of the ministry, solely for the purposes of the formulation or evaluation of fiscal policy;
(iv) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an enactment of British Columbia that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(v) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Home Owner Grant Act, the Land Tax Deferment Act or the Real Estate Development Marketing Act;
(vi) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of an Act of the Parliament of Canada, or an enactment of another province, that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty;
(vii) to an official solely for the purposes of the compilation of statistical information by the government or the government of Canada, as the case may be;
(viii) to an official solely for the purposes of setting off, against any sum of money that may be due or payable by the government, a debt due to the government;
(d) provide confidential information, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information, as the case may be, under, and solely for the purposes of,
(i) sections 44 (1) and 61 (1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or
(ii) sections 15, 16 and 17 of the Auditor General Act;
(e) provide confidential information as provided for in, or ordered under, section 239 or 242 of the Family Law Act or section 8.2 or 9 of the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act;
(f) provide confidential information relating to a person
(i) to the person, and
(ii) with the consent of the person, to any other person;
(g) use confidential information to compile information in a form that does not directly or indirectly reveal the identity of the person to whom the information relates;
(h) provide confidential information solely for the purposes of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Financial Administration Act;
(i) use, or provide to any person, confidential information solely for a purpose relating to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person by the government in respect of a period during which the authorized person was employed by, or engaged by or on behalf of, the government to assist in the administration or enforcement of this Act, to the extent that the information is relevant for the purpose;
(j) provide confidential information to a police officer, solely for the purposes of an investigation into whether an offence has been committed under the Criminal Code, or the laying of an information or the preferring of an indictment, if
(i) the confidential information can reasonably be considered necessary for the purpose of ascertaining, with respect to an official, or with respect to any person related to the official,
(A) the circumstances in which an offence under the Criminal Code may have been committed, or
(B) the identity of the person who may have committed an offence under the Criminal Code,
(ii) the official was or is engaged in the administration or enforcement of this Act, and
(iii) the offence can reasonably be considered to be related to the administration or enforcement of this Act;
(k) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, any person otherwise legally entitled to the information under a prescribed enactment of British Columbia, solely for the purposes for which the person is entitled to the information;
(l) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Assessment Act;
(m) provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by, an authorized person, solely for the purposes set out in section 4 (1) (a) of the Land Title and Survey Authority Act.
(6) Except in accordance with an information-sharing agreement entered into under section 3.1, an official must not, under subsection (5) (a) to (c) and (h) to (m) of this section, provide confidential information to, or allow inspection of or access to confidential information by,
(a) an official of a public body, as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, other than the ministry,
(b) an official of the government of Canada, or
(c) an official of the government of another province.
(7) An official may provide to appropriate persons any confidential information relating to imminent danger of death or physical injury to any individual.
(8) The person who presides at a legal proceeding in relation to the supervision, evaluation or discipline of an authorized person may make orders necessary to ensure that confidential information is not used or provided to any person for any purpose unrelated to the proceeding, including
(a) an order that the proceeding be held in private,
(b) an order banning publication of the confidential information,
(c) an order to conceal the identity of the person to whom the confidential information relates, and
(d) an order sealing the records of the proceeding.
(9) To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict with section 32 or 33 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, this section applies despite that Act.
3.1 (1) In this section:
"confidential information" has the same meaning as in section 3;
"information-sharing agreement" means an agreement or arrangement to exchange, by electronic data transmission, electronic data matching or any other means, information for a purpose described in section 3 (5).
(2) The minister may enter into an information-sharing agreement with
(a) a public body as defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,
(b) the government of Canada or an agency of that government, or
(c) the government of a province or other jurisdiction in Canada or an agency of that government.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement may be used or disclosed only for the purposes for which it was obtained under the applicable agreement.
(4) Subsection (3) does not prevent
(a) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement with the government of Canada or an agency of that government from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing
(i) an enactment administered by the minister that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty,
(ii) the Home Owner Grant Act, or
(iii) the Land Tax Deferment Act, or
(b) any confidential information obtained by the minister under an information-sharing agreement from being used or disclosed for the purpose of administering and enforcing an Act of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the imposition or collection of a tax or duty.
(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe terms and conditions to be included in the information-sharing agreements entered into by the minister.
(6) For the purposes of section 3 (6), an information-sharing agreement entered into before the coming into force of this section is considered to be an information-sharing agreement entered into by the minister under this section.
3.2 (1) Without limiting section 5 of the Offence Act as it applies for the purposes of this Act, a person commits an offence if the person
(a) contravenes section 3 (2), or
(b) knowingly contravenes an order made under section 3 (8).
(2) A person commits an offence if
(a) the person has been provided with confidential information for a particular purpose under section 3 (5) (a) to (e), (h), (i) or (k) to (m), and
(b) the person knowingly, for a purpose other than the purpose referred to in paragraph (a), uses the information, provides the information or allows the information to be provided to any person or allows any person to access the information.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to one or both of the following:
(a) a fine of not more than $5 000;
(b) imprisonment for not more than 12 months.
175 Section 21 (8.1) (b) is amended by striking out "ministry person" and substituting "person who is employed in, or retained under a contract to perform services for, the ministry".
176 Section 57 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraph:
(a.1) prescribing an enactment for the purposes of section 3 (5) (k); .
Treaty First Nation Taxation Act
177 Section 1 of the Treaty First Nation Taxation Act, S.B.C. 2007, c. 38, is amended by repealing the definitions of "reserve", "surrendered lands" and "transitional exemption lands".
178 The following section is added:
4.3 (1) A taxing treaty first nation may, by law, provide exemptions from property taxes imposed or collected by the government or by the taxing treaty first nation, in relation to the ownership or occupation of land or improvements within the treaty lands of the taxing treaty first nation, for treaty first nation members or treaty first nation constituents of the taxing treaty first nation.
(2) A law enacted under subsection (1) does not apply in respect of property taxes imposed for a taxation year unless the law comes into force on or before October 31 in the preceding calendar year.
179 Section 7.1 (3), (4), (5) and (6) is repealed.
180 A regulation made on or before December 31, 2023 under section 27 or 88 of the Financial Administration Act respecting interest rates and the manner of calculating interest in accordance with the International Fuel Tax Agreement may be made retroactive to January 1, 2023 or a later date, and if made retroactive is deemed to have come into force on the specified date.
181 (1) Despite this Act and the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act, or any other Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) respecting any matter that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers is not provided for, or is not sufficiently provided for, in the amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act enacted by sections 15 to 22 and 30 of this Act;
(b) making provisions that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers appropriate for the purpose of more effectively bringing into operation the amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act enacted by sections 15 to 22 and 30 of this Act;
(c) making provisions that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers appropriate for the purpose of preventing, minimizing or otherwise addressing any difficulties encountered in bringing into effect the amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act enacted by sections 15 to 22 and 30 of this Act, including, without limitation, provisions making an exception to or a modification of a provision in an enactment or providing for the application of an enactment;
(d) resolving any errors, inconsistencies or ambiguities arising in the amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act enacted by sections 15 to 22 and 30 of this Act.
(2) A regulation under subsection (1) may be made retroactive to a specified date that is not earlier than the date this section comes into force and, if made retroactive, is deemed to have come into force on the specified date.
(3) To the extent of any conflict between a regulation under subsection (1) and the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act or another enactment, the regulation prevails.
(4) This section and any regulations made under it are repealed on April 1, 2026 or an earlier date prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
182 (1) Section 1 (8) of the Income Tax Act, as amended by section 53 of this Act, applies only to taxation years that begin after 2017.
(2) Section 29 (2.2) of the Income Tax Act, as amended by section 69 of this Act, applies only to taxation years that end after March 20, 2013.
(3) Section 29 (2.2) of the Income Tax Act, as amended by section 70 of this Act, applies only to taxation years that end after October 2, 2016.
(4) Section 29 (2.2) of the Income Tax Act (British Columbia), as amended by section 71 of this Act, applies in relation to a taxation year if a reassessment of tax for the taxation year was required under section 152 (6) of the Income Tax Act (Canada), as that section applies for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (British Columbia), or would have been so required if the taxpayer had claimed an amount by filing the prescribed form referred to in that section on or before the day referred to in that section, in order to take into account a deduction claimed under section 111 of the Income Tax Act (Canada), as that section applies for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (British Columbia), in respect of a loss for a subsequent taxation year that ends after February 26, 2018.
183 A regulation made on or before December 31, 2023 under section 71 of the Motor Fuel Tax Act respecting interest rates and the manner of calculating interest in accordance with the International Fuel Tax Agreement may be made retroactive to January 1, 2023 or a later date, and if made retroactive is deemed to have come into force on the specified date.
184 A regulation made on or before December 31, 2023 under section 241 of the Provincial Sales Tax Act respecting automated external defibrillators, kits containing an automated external defibrillator or pads designed for use with automated external defibrillators may be made retroactive to March 1, 2023 or a later date, and if made retroactive is deemed to have come into force on the specified date.
185 The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table:
| Item | Column 1 Provisions of Act |
Column 2 Commencement |
| 1 | Anything not elsewhere covered by this table | The date of Royal Assent |
| 2 | Section 2 | March 31, 2020 |
| 3 | Section 3 | March 31, 2023 |
| 4 | Section 4 | January 1, 2019 |
| 5 | Section 5 | April 1, 2023 |
| 6 | Sections 11 and 12 | April 1, 2023 |
| 7 | Sections 15 to 47 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 8 | Section 53 | June 21, 2018 |
| 9 | Section 54 | January 1, 2023 |
| 10 | Section 55 | June 29, 2021 |
| 11 | Section 56 | January 1, 2020 |
| 12 | Section 57 | January 1, 2023 |
| 13 | Section 58 | July 1, 2023 |
| 14 | Section 59 | January 1, 2018 |
| 15 | Section 60 | July 1, 2021 |
| 16 | Section 61 | June 29, 2021 |
| 17 | Section 62 | July 1, 2023 |
| 18 | Section 63 | January 1, 2023 |
| 19 | Section 64 | July 1, 2023 |
| 20 | Section 66 | June 29, 2021 |
| 21 | Section 67 | January 1, 2023 |
| 22 | Section 68 | February 23, 2022 |
| 23 | Section 69 | December 12, 2013 |
| 24 | Section 70 | December 14, 2017 |
| 25 | Section 71 | December 13, 2018 |
| 26 | Section 72 | January 1, 2019 |
| 27 | Section 73 | February 23, 2022 |
| 28 | Section 74 | January 1, 2019 |
| 29 | Section 75 | February 23, 2022 |
| 30 | Section 76 | April 11, 2020 |
| 31 | Section 77 | January 1, 2023 |
| 32 | Section 78 | February 23, 2022 |
| 33 | Section 79 | December 13, 2018 |
| 34 | Section 80 | June 29, 2021 |
| 35 | Section 85 | July 1, 2020 |
| 36 | Section 87 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 37 | Section 89 | January 1, 2024 |
| 38 | Section 91 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 39 | Section 95 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 40 | Sections 96 to 98 | January 1, 2024 |
| 41 | Sections 99 and 100 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 42 | Section 101 | March 15, 2020 |
| 43 | Section 111 | January 1, 2024 |
| 44 | Section 116 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 45 | Section 121 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 46 | Sections 123 to 125 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 47 | Section 127 | March 15, 2020 |
| 48 | Section 144 | The date of Royal Assent or the date that section 60 of the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2022, S.B.C. 2022, c. 42, comes into force, whichever is later. |
| 49 | Sections 149 to 152 | January 1, 2024 |
| 50 | Section 155 | January 1, 2024 |
| 51 | Sections 156 and 157 | July 1, 2023 |
| 52 | Section 158 | September 1, 2022 |
| 53 | Section 159 | April 1, 2013 |
| 54 | Section 160 | September 1, 2022 |
| 55 | Section 161 | April 1, 2013 |
| 56 | Sections 162 to 165 | July 1, 2023 |
| 57 | Section 170 | July 1, 2023 |
| 58 | Section 171 | November 27, 2018 |
| 59 | Section 177 | January 1, 2024 |
| 60 | Section 179 | January 1, 2024 |
| 61 | Section 180 | January 1, 2023 |
| 62 | Section 181 | By regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council |
| 63 | Section 183 | January 1, 2023 |